You Make Me Live
by LaTragicomedia
Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends. Shoujo ai, kiddos, so don't bother if you don't like that.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: Don't own Azumanga Daioh or its characters. Title ripped off from some Queen lyrics. Read more in the author's notes which can be found at the end of the chapter.

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, possible shoujo ai (though it'll all be fluff if anything).

**Chapter 1**

The three of them were sitting in the food court at the mall waiting on the others to arrive. Tomo was leaning back in her chair, feet against one of the table legs to keep her balance. Kagura was watching people stand in line to order food. Osaka appeared to be happily staring off into space, eyes focused on nothing in particular.

It had been awhile since they all had gotten together to just hang out, usually only meeting in groups of two or three. Not everyone could make it, of course, considering Chiyo was in another country and Sakaki was continuing her education far enough away that a weekday visit was impractical. It was just supposed to be Tomo, Kagura, Osaka, Yomi, Kaorin, and Chihiro. A mini high school reunion of sorts.

Tomo sighed in an exaggerated manner before leveling her chair so all four legs touched the ground, earning her a sidelong glance from Kagura. This was stupid. She came because Yomi asked her to. She had tons of other things she could be doing besides sitting in a crummy food court with sticky tables. Like… sleeping… or watching T.V. Yeah, she was sure something good was probably on. Something better than a food court at a mall. Not to mention the unpleasant atmosphere that hung over their presence, or more specifically her's and Kagura's.

Their gatherings were currently restricted to going to the movies, the mall, and eating out. This was the first time since several weeks ago that both Tomo and Kagura were present at the same time. So, she had gotten a little out of hand at the party a couple of weeks ago and had embarrassed Kagura in front of one of her guy friends at the swim house. Kagura needed to get over herself. It's not like Tomo hadn't apologized. At least, she thought she had apologized, but her memories of that evening were fuzzy at best.

What'd Kagura have to get all up on her high horse for anyhow? It wasn't like Tomo had meant anything by it.

Before Tomo was able to continue with that thought, Yomi sat down in the chair next to her, removing her scarf and gloves as she sat.

"Sorry, guys. I got a phone call from Kaorin as I was on my way, but it's so loud in here that I decided to finish the conversation outside before I came and sat down," Yomi explained, cheeks still red from the cold.

Kagura turned in her chair and asked, "So, what'd she say? She gonna be late?"

Yomi shook her head before continuing, "Her and Chihiro can't make it. They said they both have papers due tomorrow, first thing."

"Papers?! They're ditching us for _papers_?! What's wrong with them? University's for having fun, not writing papers. We had enough of that in high school!" Tomo exclaimed, rising in her seat to further stress her point.

Across the table she heard a snort from Kagura while Yomi just rolled her eyes before quietly grumbling, "Not that you ever _did_ your assignments in high school."

"Hey! I did my work. Sometimes. Well, it was usually just copied off your work, but… I handed stuff in. And wait a minute! Is that the way you greet your best pal?!" Tomo shouted, causing several heads at surrounding tables to turn in their direction.

"Put a sock in it, drama queen." Kagura retorted, attempting to sound more put out than snide. She had always thought of herself as a generally nice, laid back person, but Tomo sure knew how to push her limits and the fiasco at the party earlier in the month wasn't making things any easier.

"Who said I was talkin' to you?!" Tomo yelled, if anything, voice getting louder.

Yomi not liking where the conversation was headed, or the amount of attention they were receiving from the other diners, decided to intervene.

Sighing in resignation, she yanked Tomo down into her seat by her jacket sleeve, Tomo's rear connecting with the chair in a dull 'thud'.

"Would the two of you give it up? I mean, how old are we?" Yomi asked anxiously.

Osaka, who hadn't seemed to have been paying attention up until that last question, helpfully offered, "Well, I'd say we're all about 20 years old. Except Chiyo-chan, but she's not here, so, I guess we'd all be about 20."

"Thanks, Ayumu. Your words of wisdom have enlightened us all," Kagura murmured sullenly.

"Geez. Just 'cause you're cranky and uptight doesn't mean you've gotta take it out on Osaka," Tomo sneered in response.

"Y'know what? I don't have to put up with this. I've got enough stuff to worry about. I don't need to come hang out with friends, trying to _relax_, and end up havin' to deal with you. I'm surprised any of us still spend time with you. Well, I'm not gonna bother anymore. I'm leaving," Kagura snarled before grabbing her coat and heading for the nearest exit, but not without a quick acknowledgement of the two who were still in her good graces. "Bye Ayumu. Later Yomi. Sorry you guys had to see that. Maybe I'll see you at lunch tomorrow."

"Yeah, well, good riddance," Tomo remarked, still upset despite Kagura's abrupt departure.

Yomi huffed, feeling emotionally drained. Why did Tomo have to create messes like this? Kagura was partially to blame, but Tomo knew exactly which buttons to press. Yomi herself was somehow able to cope with her idiot friend, but it must've been through years of exposure, she supposed.

It wasn't like Kagura had been the only one slighted that night that would forevermore in Yomi's mind be known as "Absinthe Night". And actually, one poor decision aside, it wasn't all Tomo's fault. She just shouldn't have taken that mystery shot, especially after downing several glasses of other beverages earlier that evening at the party, and deciding to "pregame" it before they had even left the apartment.

Yomi hated going to these things, but Kagura had invited them, excited for them to meet her swim team buddies. It was supposed more or less an exclusive party with the swim team members and their friends, but naturally people's friends had invited friends and there ended up being a decent amount of students there. Yomi actually had seen some people she recognized from some of her classes and had started up conversations, knowing Tomo would absolutely die if she knew Yomi was casually chit chatting about professors and coursework. At a party, on a _Friday_ of all things. Tomo though had wandered off somewhere with Kagura who had promised to introduce her to some of her guy friends. _Well, what she doesn't know won't hurt her and I'm glad Kagura's dealing with her now and not me._ A tipsy Tomo could be a handful sometimes.

She looked over to the opposite side of the living room to find Tomo gesturing wildly, obviously in the middle of relating the details of some event, most likely exaggerating certain points. Kagura was standing next to her and seemed amused at first, but her expression shortly became more irritated.

Noting from across the room that Tomo was getting out of hand, Yomi politely excused herself from the conversation she was having with one of the guys in her English class to go retrieve her friend. In the short period of time it had taken Yomi to cross the room Tomo and Kagura had somehow started a screaming match, Tomo revealing and embellishing some of the more embarrassing escapades Kagura had been involved in during their high school years, each line riddled with bouts of laughter, which only added to the incoherency. Kagura at the same time was vehemently trying to tell the shorter woman to shut up, voice increasing in volume with each demand. Of course, Kagura's obvious discomfort only served to egg Tomo on.

Before the yelling could escalate into an all out cat fight, Yomi not so gently grabbed Tomo's collar just as she was in the middle of making an inappropriate remark suggesting there was a negative correlation between Kagura's bust size and her brain capacity and yanked her out of the argument while simultaneously explaining that "we were just on our way out" and "thank you so much for the invitation".

As the two approached the door, Yomi noticed the sudden paleness of Tomo's skin.

"Are you alright?" she had asked, now troubled by Tomo's lack of both color and obnoxious come back as Tomo had failed to reply to the inquiry.

While she was dragging Tomo's half limp form out of the house, Tomo decided at that moment she was going to be sick and it couldn't wait. Hauling Tomo over to some bushes, her ears were greeted with the unpleasant sound of someone retching. She was happy that not only did Tomo refrain from ruining her sweater and coat, her skirt also survived the assault.

Upon closer inspection though, Yomi quickly realized that not everything remained unscathed. Afraid to look down, but even more unwilling to ignore the wet warmth that threatened to seep into her newly purchased, rather pricey boots, she addressed her companion with a glare that would stop any normal person dead in their tracks. Tomo on the other hand was so pathetically trashed out of her mind that either Yomi's anger failed to register, or she couldn't summon the strength to care, mind completely focused on her current plight.

Yomi just sighed as she did her best to wipe off the offending material in the grass, though she had a sinking feeling that cleaning her boots wouldn't be easy. She took out some unused tissues from her purse and cleaned off Tomo's face, before tossing them in a nearby trash receptacle.

"C'mon, let's get you home. You're a mess," she said before adjusting Tomo so one of her arms was slung over her shoulders and her own arm was wrapped around Tomo's waist.

The rest of that night Yomi had spent monitoring her friend's health as Tomo herself prayed to the porcelain god ("I'm _never_ going to drink anything that glows _again_..."). Five thirty in the morning found an exhausted Tomo curled up on the bathroom mat and an equally tired Yomi stretched out on the carpeting in the hallway.

Indeed, Kagura wasn't the only one who suffered due to Tomo's antics.

For whatever frustrating reason, Yomi was never quite able to reach a conclusion where her tie to Tomo was concerned. But now, at least, she was able to take Tomo's overbearing presence and disruptive idiosyncrasies with a semblance of grace. _It is what it is_, she supposed. …_Whatever it is_.

In spite of her newfound lenience towards the anomaly that was Tomo Takino, she couldn't help but feel annoyed that what was supposed to be an enjoyable study break had turned into a heated argument between two of her closest friends.

Tomo was still sitting to her left with an outwardly smug expression, though Yomi could tell her friend was upset, and Osaka seemed content to continue her other worldly musings.

"Well, so much for that," Yomi declared as she gathered her things and stood, not surprised at all as Tomo began to protest.

Her earlier dismay at having to squander precious minutes of her life away at the food court nothing short of forgotten, Tomo noisily started to object, "Wha-wh-what?! Don't tell me we're gonna let a whole evening go to waste just 'cause Kagura got her panties all in a bunch and ran off on us like that! I wanted to see that movie, y'know that new comedy with what's his face and-and what about _dinner_? You _know_ you don't want to cook tonight, Yomi!"

Eat out with the friends night was kind a treat for them both. Tomo was banned from anything in the kitchen that could potentially either catch on fire or start a fire once switched on (Yomi's way of saying "Do not touch anything in the kitchen") and Yomi, due to her dieting habits in high school, never had enjoyed the actual process of cooking all that much.

"I am going to make myself a sandwich, and you, I don't know. You're on your own tonight. If you're that desperate for fast food, you can walk yourself over to the nearest McDonald's. Let's go, Ayumu, I'll walk with you to your bus stop."

"That's too bad Miss Kagura had to leave all of a sudden like that…"Osaka trailed off as she followed Yomi to one of the mall exits that opened out onto the streets.

Tomo watched their retreating backs completely dumbfounded. What did Yomi mean by "you're on your own tonight"? Was Yomi mad at her? It wasn't like it was her fault. Yomi had _seen_ the way Kagura had acted. The athletic woman had obviously been itching to pick a fight with her, not the other way around! Why should _she_ take the blame because Kagura was in a snippy mood?

Geez. Well, maybe the night wasn't a complete loss. Once Yomi and her got back to the apartment, maybe she'd be able to convince the brunette that she didn't _really _need to spend the rest of the evening at the library and to just stay at home with her.

Heck, if Yomi cooled off by then, maybe they could put in a movie and order take out from the place down the street. _It wasn't like we weren't gonna go to the movies in the first place_.

Yeah, she should be able to salvage something. On that note Tomo followed her two friends to the revolving door, her attitude once again carefree.

Author's Notes: This chapter is a tribute to all those friends who have been in Yomi's place. What the hell, kudos to people who've survived Tomo's position, too. Don't drink mystery shots, kids. Especially not mystery shots that are a strange green color (and especially, especially not if you've already had too much to drink before that).

I honestly dunno what the heck this is. Or where it's going (wherever the wind takes it, in other words). This stemmed from a completely different (but vague) idea… and morphed into this… thing. Ah well, it's not a one shot, but I dunno really what to do with it. I have some ideas.shrugs But most likely due to course work it might not be continued for awhile (I'm not going to hold new chapters captive in exchange for a ransom of reviews, though at the same time, I can't deny that if people are actually interested in this, I will be more likely to write stuff). In the end though, I suppose it all depends on my whims (my very fickle whims… sorry… eheh…).

Ah, I don't own Azumanga or its characters. And excuse me if they aren't quite in character. And sorry. I didn't quite turn Tomo into a lush, per se… but as most people who've read the manga and watched the show noticed a parallel between Tomo and Yukari (and to a slightly lesser extent, that between Yomi and Nyamo)… I'm just sort of continuing that parallel. Though with slightly more serious undertones, but nothing crazy. I can't make any promises, but I'm almost positive that there will be no rapes, character deaths, gunfights, magical girls, pregnancies, mechas or hospitalizations for terminal illnesses used as plot devices in this work of fiction (unfortunately, that means I will probably rely on drama between characters… sorry about that in advance… though I hope to refrain from making it over the top). Also, there probably won't be much of Chiyo-chan or Sakaki due to me being lazy and not wanting to write parallel storylines (and the lack of Chiyo who is more of a peacekeeper and Sakaki who'd much rather think about kitties and cute animals than fighting, is cause for more imbalance). There might be some Nyamo and Yukari appearances though.

Oh, and sadly I don't have a penchant for writing… and grammar, well, let's just say I tend to put punctuation in where it doesn't belong and leave it out when it should be there.; My sincerest apologies for any typographical errors. And this will be the longest author's note, hopefully, since it's the first chapter. (I'm not all that good at writing, but I sure as hell like to chit chat.)

This title is most likely temporary… and it's ripped off from that Queen song "You're my best friend". Chapter name pending… maybe.


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters.

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and possible shoujo ai (I will continue to be a tease and leave the story genre as "General" for the moment).

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

**Chapter 2**

The bus ride to the stop closest to their apartment had been uncomfortable and awkward. At least, Tomo had felt that way. Shortly after getting on and finding two chairs next to each other, Yomi offered her seat to an old lady who had been standing, not even glancing behind her as she left her companion with the talkative older woman. Strangely, Tomo couldn't quite bring herself to walk away in the middle of the conversation to go stand further up in the bus so she could be next to Yomi (perhaps because being rude wasn't fun if Yomi wasn't right next to her to get riled up about it), and ended up spending the next twenty minutes listening to the woman prattle on about everything from her grandchildren to the latest trends in the weather.

Relieved when she saw they were nearing their stop, Tomo took her leave before getting up to go stand next to Yomi, who did little to acknowledge the shorter woman's presence. Irritated due to the complete lack of communication between her and her roommate, she shifted uneasily and urged the bus to reach their destination faster so she could get the heck out of it. It was beginning to feel claustrophobic.

Feeling her body sway as the vehicle stopped, she stepped down off the bus and began heading in the direction of the apartment building where she shared a small flat with Yomi.

Yomi, on her part, was very well aware that the shorter girl knew she was irritated, and figured she had given her the cold shoulder for long enough. Catching up with her friend she turned her face in the other woman's direction and made eye contact with Tomo, an air of disinterest clouding her expression. Tomo had the decency to look cowed, but after a moment a timid smile formed on her face before her expression broke into an all out grin. Tossing her arm around the brunette's shoulders, she yanked Yomi down to her height, smirking at her conspiratorially.

"So, Koyomiyomi, whaddya say we toss books out the window for tonight and just have like a Roomie Hang Out Time?" Tomo shouted.

Yomi rolled her eyes in response to Tomo's sudden, but not unexpected, enthusiasm. It would be nice take a break. After all, their initial plan had been to grab something to eat at the food court and then see a movie in the theater that was attached to the mall. Thinking of their earlier arrangements though brought to mind Tomo and Kagura's fight, which actually hadn't left her thoughts during the bus trip. _Well, honesty is the best policy... maybe._

"Tomo, I know you're not going to want to hear this, but you really should try to work things out with Kagura. I don't have the time or energy to keep being in the middle of all this nonsense. And though _I'm_ used to your stupidity-"

"Hey!" Tomo interjected, removing her arm that was still wrapped around the taller woman's shoulders. Yomi, however continued and completely ignored the excitable young woman's protests.

"And Kagura _should_ be used to it, she's probably worried that her new friends aren't. You know she just transferred and Kagura's a bit more sensitive than we, well, you are. She's under a lot of stress now and since she's back in the area, we should give her our support," Yomi calmly stated.

Tomo made a face at the lecture. "You sound like you're somebody's mom or something. Am I going to get a time out and have to sit on the stairs?"

"And creep out the new neighbor?" Yomi asked, amused. "She already looked uncomfortable enough when you introduced yourself-not to mention let yourself into her apartment-the other day."

"You know you were curious about the place, too," Tomo said, happy the course of conversation had changed.

Turning a corner, Yomi fished in her purse for the keys, knowing that if she waited on Tomo they'd be stuck in the cold for a good ten minutes longer since the dingbat never could remember where she put them. Coming to the apartment Yomi unlocked the main door, holding it open as Tomo followed in after her. The taller woman made her way to the stairs as shorter one went straight for the elevator.

"Race ya!" Tomo said, grinning as the elevator doors closed, Yomi having made it three steps up.

Yomi just shook her head in reply, slightly surprised that Tomo hadn't jumped on the opportunity to poke fun at her more health conscious self. Yomi often preferred to take the stairs and looked at it as a mini work out considering they lived on the fifth floor. That and last time she had taken the elevator with Tomo, the other woman thought it would be funny to press _all_ the buttons, starting with the top floor, Yomi realizing too late to do much about it. The only reason she had acquiesced in the first place was because they were moving in and had a lot of luggage. From day one Tomo had managed to not make the best impression on their fellow tenants. _Never again_, she had vowed.

lllllllllllll

In another part of town Kagura was returning to her small dorm room where she lived alone. Turning on both sets of lights, Kagura tossed her jacket over the chair in front of her computer desk. She had changed and gone on a run to cool her anger as soon as she had returned from the mall. It was dumb, really. Tomo was Tomo and there wasn't a whole lot Kagura could do to change that. She liked the Tomo that was fun and spontaneous, but the rude, over the top self that formed the other half of her personality sometimes made it not worth the effort to even associate with her.

She marveled at how in the world Yomi did it. Without going crazy. _Well, wonders never cease, especially not with that group_.

Just as she was getting some bottled water out of her mini fridge she heard the muffled chime of her cell phone, alerting her that she had a missed call. Using the charger cord as a guide she rummaged through a pile of folders, books, and dirty clothes until she finally was able to locate the small device. Flipping the phone open she saw that Ayumu, listed under her old nickname "Osaka", had called.

She pressed the send button before putting the phone to her ear. It rang. And continued to ring. Finally, when she thought she was going to be forwarded to the voice mail, a small beep was heard and the tired voice of Osaka answered.

"Mmmm?" the voice on the line muttered, bypassing any sort of social greeting conventions.

"Uhh… Ayumu? It's um Kagura… were you sleeping again? Sorry to wake you up, but I was returning your call…" Kagura trailed off, not quite sure what to say.

"Thas' ok… I was just takin' a break," the girl on the other end said softly before a yawn interrupted the conversation," I just wanted to see if ya wanted to come over and work on English."

Neither girl had taken their modern language requirement their first two years and so both, now upperclassmen, were in a class full of first year students.

"Uh, sure. I'm just going to take a shower real quick. I'll be over at your building in about… forty minutes or so. Should we just meet on the third floor study lounge?"

Ayumu on the other line yawned again before replying, "Sounds great. I'll see ya in a bit."

"Yeah, see you."

lllllllllllll

Tossing her coat, scarf and gloves onto the couch, Tomo made her way into the kitchen after removing her shoes at the door. She opened the fridge, rifling around in search of a small, white styrofoam box.

"Yooomi! What'd you do with my leftovers from Saturday night?"

Yomi, who had picked up Tomo's coat and hung it alongside her own on the coat rack shouted back from the other room, "Tomo, it was from last _Saturday_. It was almost five days old. I tossed it yesterday."

"What?! It still could've been good!" Tomo whined, peering around the corner to look at her roommate, a pitiable expression on her face.

"Tomo. That's just gross. I didn't even want to open the box to check it out, but I bet there was stuff growing on it."

Tomo chuckled in response, "hehe Like that one time with the moldy bread… remember that?"

Yomi looked at her friend, one eyebrow raised in disbelief. "Completely different case. You wanna know why? Because _I_ had no interest in _eating_ the moldy bread."

"Yeah…" and in true Tomo fashion, once defeated, she quickly changed the subject. "So, what movie do you want to watch tonight?"

"I don't recall agreeing to watch a movie with you tonight."

"Remember? When we got off the bus I was like 'Let's have Roomie Hang Out Night!' and you never said one thing against it so I was thinking 'Heck yeah! Roomie Hang Out Night' and now that my heart's set on it you can't refuse," Tomo finished, satisfied with both herself and her logic.

"Maybe after I get work done," the brunette tartly replied.

"Work? C'mon, Yomi! You've been to the library like every night this week. You think too much."

"And you, not enough."

"Oh, burn, Yomi. You sure cut to the quick, babe."

Ignoring that last comment, Yomi, despite her better judgment, decided to compromise, "Well, if you leave me alone for two hours and let me get work done, we'll just order out tonight and start a movie later. OK?"

Tomo did a little dance on the inside, thinking, as she viewed it, how she'd won that round.

"That's a deal, pal! I'll be keeping track of the time!" she hollered wholeheartedly, giving her friend an enthusiastic thumbs up.

lllllllllllll

Kagura peeked into the study lounge and seeing that the light wasn't on, she decided to go straight to Osaka's room. Knocking on the door she waited for a reply. No answer. She tried one more time before heading back to the study lounge, remarking to herself, "Well, that's weird."

She opened to door and flipped the light switch, now able to see the limp form, fast asleep on one of the stuffed chairs.

Quietly walking over she tentatively poked the smaller girl in the shoulder with the English notebook she had brought along to study. She would generally not be one to wake a person up mid-nap, but decided that these were special circumstances and Ayumu would have to eventually get up anyway.

"Oy, Ayumu… Hey. It's me. Kagura."

Aforementioned girl slowly opened her eyes, looking completely dazed. As soon as she recognized who was standing before her though, a sort of content smile crossed her face.

"Hey, Kagura. Whatcha up to?"

Kagura looked at her friend in amazement.

"Umm… didn't you want me to come over to study English?"

"Sounds like a good idea. Did ya bring your stuff?"

Incredulous, but at the same time thinking that she should have known better, Kagura just let it drop. _Note to self, never tell Osaka anything important if she's in the middle of taking a nap._

lllllllllllll

Yomi woke up to find herself in a rather unique position on the couch. She had fallen asleep part way through the movie and Tomo must have, too, seeing as she was half draped over Yomi's side and currently drooling onto one of the sleeves of her sweater. Frowning at this revelation, she slowly tried to lift the other girl up so as not to wake her. Unfortunately, due to the awkward position she had been lying down in, her own body, much less Tomo's drooping form, was not very willing to cooperate. Muscles slightly aching, she still managed to lay Tomo out on the couch, placing one of the couch pillows under her head and covering her up with one of the nearby blankets.

The digital clock on the DVD player read 2:00 AM. Not too late, but definitely time to get some sleep. Stretching out the kinks in her arms and back she silently yawned before heading to the bathroom to clean up for bed. After washing her face and brushing her teeth she went over to her room, changing into pajamas, not bothering to shut the door.

In the middle of pulling the old t-shirt she was going to wear as a pajama top over her head she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey," it croaked.

Nearly jumping out of her skin, she yanked down the shirt before turning around, a blush spreading across her face. There stood Tomo in the hallway, eyes only half open, one hand rubbing her right eye with the blanket gripped in the other. She actually looked kind of cute like that. Like a sleepy child. An innocent, heavy-eyed child ready to drift off into a sea of dreams. That illusion quickly shattered as soon as she opened her mouth.

"You were pretty comfy. Must be all your excess fat."

Being awake enough to make cheeky comments did not mean Tomo was alert enough to dodge pillows launched directly at her face.

Tomo made a stifled "uff" sound as the soft projectile connected and knocked her off balance.

As soon as she regained her bearings, her eyes widened to see yet another pillow, this one aimed for her gut.

"Okok! I'm sorry!" she cried, realizing from her position in the hallway, there was very little to come by as far as ammunition went. Plus, she didn't want to think of what Yomi would start flinging at her when she ran out of pillows. She lifted her hands up in defeat before bending over to lightly toss the pillows back as a sign of good will.

"Hmph," was all Yomi grumbled in reply as she caught them.

"Well, night. See you in the morning," Tomo said as her mouth opened wide in a yawn.

Seeing the other woman yawn reminded Yomi of exactly how tired she was. She found herself unable to contain a yawn of her own, but unlike Tomo she covered her mouth as it opened of its own accord.

"G'night. Oh, and my class for tomorrow was cancelled. Don't expect me to wake you up so you're on time for your things. I'm sleeping in," Yomi informed her roommate.

The shorter girl just waved the comment off before continuing to her room to tuck in for the night.

lllllllllllll

"Hey… hey, Ayumu. Ayumu?... Osaka? It's really late. I'm going back to my dorm," Kagura whispered, voice sounding eerily loud due to the otherwise complete silence of the room.

They actually had gotten a good amount of work done, but about an hour ago Osaka had claimed that she was "just going to rest her eyes"… for "five minutes".

She softly nudged the other woman's shoulder and suddenly she saw stars. Osaka had woken at Kagura's light touch to her shoulder, abruptly sitting up. Both of their foreheads had collided in a crash.

Simultaneously, the two groaned, clutching their heads in pain.

"Well, that was a rude awakening if I ever saw one," Kagura wryly remarked, "If only I had just seen it and not felt it, too."

Osaka still appeared to be wincing but was surprisingly able assess the situation.

"Sorry, Kagura. Well, I s'pose it's time to go to bed. I'll walk you back halfway," she said, still rather absentminded looking even after being so suddenly, and painfully roused from sleep.

"You don't have to do that," Kagura insisted.

"Naw, you always come over here, so it'd just make sense for me ta at least walk you back."

Deciding not to push the discussion further, she complied.

They both gathered their things before walking downstairs, Osaka looking for her I.D. card to swipe them out of the building.

Shivering at the sudden difference in temperature between outdoors and inside, they both looked at each other and verbally acknowledged that it was indeed cold.

Kagura's building was a good ten to fifteen minute walk from Osaka's and the first few minutes they continued in a companionable silence.

"So… you still mad at Tomo?" Osaka suddenly asked, breaking the quiet stillness of the winter air.

Kagura looked over at her in surprise. They hadn't discussed it the entire night, despite the fact that the scene in the food court had occurred just that afternoon.

"Not really… I dunno. She just makes me so mad sometimes. I'm surprised Yomi is able to deal with her."

Osaka looked thoughtful for a moment, head cocked slightly to the side.

"Yeah, I can see what ya mean… but part of it's just who she is. I don't think she means half of what she says and sometimes she doesn't think before she opens that trap of hers."

It was Kagura's turn yet again to be surprised, and it must have shown on her face because her companion smiled at her knowingly in reply.

"Just 'cause I'm a little spacey doesn't mean I don't catch on to _anything_," the petite girl stated, "Anyway, maybe I'm not the best one to ask for advice, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. Things'll turn out OK."

Osaka's words of wisdom were cut short by another large yawn.

"Well, this is where we part ways," said Kagura as they both came to a stop, "I'll see you around. Give me a call anytime you want to study. As long as I don't have something for swim team, I'll be happy to come on over."

Osaka nodded in reply, eyes again looking distracted.

"Night, Miss Kagura."

"Night, Osaka."

At that, Osaka once more looked focused.

Kagura just smiled, "For old times sake. I know you prefer your real name, but I dunno. Guess I just felt like it was appropriate. And yeah, y'know… if you just wanna hang out. I know we're both living in singles so, if you ever feel like… well, you're tired of your room let me know."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"Oh, and Ayumu? Thanks. I mean, I wasn't going to bring the whole Tomo thing up, but it makes me feel better to have gotten some of that off my chest."

"Anytime," Osaka said, her smile looking more sincerely real than dazed.

Both women continued their separate ways, content with the thought that they had found something they didn't know they already had.

Author's Notes: And again, this is more like an American college/University because I figure that even if I do look up what Japanese University life is like, I'll probably portray it completely inaccurately anyway since I haven't lived it. Though it's not set in America.

And this was finished rather ridiculously fast… maybe because it was already half written… I guess I lied about me not continuing this in awhile… though I honestly think Chapter 3 will be a lot slower coming.

I will avoid OCs like the plague because I honestly don't feel like writing or reading about other characters even if they are my own creations. I'm not saying that it can't be pulled off ever… I'm personally just not going to try to pull it off. And there are subtle thises and thats going on. But still… it falls under the General category at the moment.

I… sort of have a better idea on where this is going. I feel though that if I had it completely planned out, I'd probably get bored… but at the same time, this leaves me open for plot holes and errors (what plot, you say? Umm… wait until next chapter?... or something).

Man, though, things do seem to be going painstakingly slow and I'm absolutely no fun.; ) Well, we'll survive.

And thanks to Scotch with the review on chapter one. Yes, I'm sort of outlining things now…

The moral of this chapter is: if the old lady wants your seat on the bus/train/etc., give it up to her. Even if it means deserting your obnoxious friend who you're annoyed with anyway. Who knows? They might give you candy…

I'm having a heckuva time with the stupid scene dividers… so this chapter's section dividers are brought to you by the letter "l".


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. And I can't think of anything really witty to say about that.

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and possible shoujo ai (-yawn-… there might actually be some fluffiness in this chapter… and since I doubt anyone has read this "rated T for swearing and possible shoujo ai" warning, some might be annoyed, whereas others who read chapters 1 and 2 but got bored probably aren't even going to bother with chapter 3). This chapter gets a bit dramatic at the end.

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

**Chapter 3**

Tomo was having the most wonderful dream. She couldn't quite remember what it had been about afterwards, but she knew she had been happy, warm, and asleep. She also knew she had near the end of the dream heard the voice of dear, cranky Yomi, though she realized why that was as her dream of contentment unexpectedly became a waking nightmare.

Violently, her body was knocked halfway onto the floor. She had been sleeping on top of her comforter and at a strange angle. The front half of her form landed on the floor near her bed, while her midsection was still hooked over the bedside, rear end and feet up in the air.

For a few seconds she couldn't do much beyond gasp, the whole time a voice behind her was blathering on in nagging tones. Ignoring the talking for a moment, she yanked her arms out from underneath her so she could push herself back onto the bed. She turned around and sat in a cross-legged position as she faced what appeared to be a flustered Yomi, still holding part of the comforter that she had used to toss Tomo off her bed.

"Are you listening to me? I'd been trying to wake you up for like five minutes and you wouldn't even budge. You already missed your first class! I _told_ you I wasn't going to make sure you got up on time," the taller woman, height amplified due to how she was standing over the bed, scolded, "Just… get yourself ready. I'll make you something to eat before you go."

Yomi then turned around and walked out of the room, grumbling to herself.

Now awake, Tomo slowly got up rubbing her chin, which had been the first part of her to meet the floor. Looking at her reflection in the mirror that was hung up in her closet she saw that her hair was sticking up at strange angles and though she felt awake, she didn't look it. _Yomi didn't have to be so rough…_

She opened some drawers and grabbed a t-shirt, a pair of underwear, and a bra. Reaching to her right, she took down a pair of jeans that had been hung up, deciding that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to wear the ones she had fallen asleep in.

Not really all that concerned about the class she had missed, she leisurely walked over to the bathroom with a change of clothes, stretching lazily as she went.

Yomi was in their small kitchen area making some toast when she heard the shower turn on. _What the hell is that idiot thinking? She doesn't have _time_ for a shower!_

"Whatever… I'm not going to worry about it," she mumbled out loud, popping up the toast so she could toast the bread later after Tomo was actually near being ready.

She sat down and picked up the coffee she had made herself a good ten to fifteen minutes ago, quickly setting it back down again because it had already gotten cold. She supposed she could just pour herself a new cup once the next batch was done.

Normally they'd get up at about the same time and if Tomo hadn't woken up, Yomi would coax the other woman into getting ready. This morning she woke up an hour or two later than normal before going to the kitchen and thinking over what she could make herself for breakfast. Looking at the analog clock that hung on the wall over the table in their dining and living room area, she saw that it was about time for Tomo's first class. Moving further into the other room, her gaze continued around the corner to see that both Tomo's backpack (unopened since yesterday's classes) lay on the ground next to a pair of shoes she had haphazardly tossed upon returning from picking up dinner last night. Her coat was also still hung up on one of the hooks by the doorway.

If Tomo had left either her coat or backpack behind, Yomi wouldn't have been all that surprised, but the fact that the pair of shoes was also still there made Yomi hazard a guess that Tomo also was probably still at home. And also most likely still asleep. She walked the short distance down the hall to Tomo's room on the right. As she opened the door, her suspicions were quickly proven correct. Tomo was lying there over her top blanket, still in the clothes she wore yesterday, dead to the world. She had tried calling her name several times with no visible results. Unfortunately for Tomo, Yomi had already been annoyed upon entering the room and in a sudden fit of irritation, she gave the covers a vicious pull causing Tomo, whose head had been resting near the far edge of the bed, to fall off, soon followed by the rest of her upper half as she spluttered in confusion. Maybe she should've felt a little guilty. But even now as she sat staring at her chilled cup of coffee, anger equally cooled off, she couldn't really bring herself to feel too bad.

The water in the bathroom shut off and Yomi once again started toasting the bread, knowing Tomo wouldn't take all that long to get dressed.

She got up and put her cup in the sink before opening a cabinet and getting out a thermos for Tomo. Just as she was done buttering the toast and pouring the cream in the coffee (Tomo never drank it dark), the other girl strode into the room, hair still wet.

"Hey, Yomi," Tomo said through a grin, grabbing the thermos in one hand and picking up the toast from the counter, "Thanks. I owe ya." _As usual._

"Yeah, just remember to set your alarm. It's not like I'll be living with you forever or anything," the other woman groused.

"Ha! As if you could get rid of me. You tried it before and how long did you last? What? A year and a half… two years?"

Yomi just rolled her eyes.

"Oh Yeah! Since you don't have class, did you want to get lunch at like 1:30?"

"Umm… actually, I was probably going to meet up with Ayumu… and… Kagura. I forgot to tell them I didn't have to go to my morning class today when we got together… and I'd give them a call, but they're probably in class right now so…"

"Oh," Tomo said looked genuinely disappointed, "Well, that's cool. I'll see you after you get back from work then?"

"Yeah, maybe. I was going to work on a paper at the library once my shift was over, but I should be back by around 7:30."

"Well, I guess I'll see you later then," Tomo said with only slightly less excitement than usual. It was a bit irritating that she was being upstaged by the one person who she was annoyed with at the moment. Ah well, she also knew Yomi wasn't going to flat out blow her other friends off. It wasn't her roommate's style to just ditch people like that.

"Bye… don't forget your backpack," Yomi finished lamely, actually feeling to some extent like she was betraying her friend even though she had long ago decided that she wasn't going to be partial to either side of the issue.

Tomo waved the hand the toast was in before walking out of the kitchen to the front door.

"Laterz!" she called in a happy tone from the front door, attempting to brush the awkward moment off.

"Bye," Yomi gently called back, hearing the door shut.

llllllll

Osaka, also known as Ayumu, was sitting in one of the department's offices. Physically, at least. Mentally her mind was somewhere else. She had brought in a paper to go over with the T.A. that instructed one of her classes and she was only vaguely listening to the mistakes that were being pointed out by the teacher's assistant, nodding when it seemed appropriate.

_It was awful nice of Miss Kagura ta come by and help me with my homework. She's always been nice like that though. Too bad her 'n Tomo aren't getting along. _

The grad student motioned to one of the lines in her paper, Osaka inclined her head just enough to appear as though she also was focusing on that line. He said something that looked like it might have been instructive. Nod.

_They never used ta fight this bad in high school. Guess things change. And Kagura seems kinda stressed out lately. She's probably just too busy with classes 'n sports 'n such. 'N she just got here this semester. _

Osaka forced herself to concentrate a little more on the present reality, noting that the other student was wrapping up his lecture. Taking back the returned paper, now covered in scribbled red marks, she thanked him for his time before wandering out of the room.

_I love easy extra credit. _While she wouldn't get points directly added onto her grade, she did hear a rumor that going in for a proofreading session did make the instructor grade the paper slightly more mercifully. Sometimes being in a few lower level classes did have its benefits. It wasn't all that strange for her to still have some general education requirements to take care of considering she was behind the other girls due to working a year before college to make some money. She certainly _looked_ like one of the younger students on campus. Still almost flat-chested and petite. _Chiyo-chan's probably got me beat by now,_ she lamented to herself, remembering high school locker room conversations of the past.

After a rough first semester, she had somewhat gotten her act together even though she still frequently daydreamed, especially during her longer classes. As an upperclassman had told her last year, "Learn how the system works, and then you can work the system." It had took some pondering during one of her classes to come to a conclusion as to what exactly that had meant, but her second year through she worked harder, but at the same time, stressed less. And took advantage of the innocuous little tips that could be used to help her grades out.

Looking at one of the wall clocks as she passed she saw that it was about time for lunch.

llllllll

Kagura, on another part of campus, for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past ten minutes, was also looking at a clock. One that was conveniently located above the blackboard at the front of the lecture hall. _These hour and a half sessions are _killing _me._

It didn't help that this was a history class. A lecture based history class. For some stupid reason her history credits from her other university didn't transfer. Some bull shit excuse like it not being an Eastern Civilization course. She had taken some special topic Contemporary Eastern Europe class, one because it fit her schedule and two because she heard the professor was awesome (or more specifically, tended to give out awesomely easy A's). This class though… he just kept going. It was like Kimura's Classical Literature class minus the creepiness.

Only five minutes left. She could do this. The torture session was almost at its end. She erased the minute hand of her clock doodle that she had drawn on her otherwise completely blank page of notes, sketching an angled arrow pointing to the eleven. If she hadn't planned on meeting Yomi and Ayumu for lunch, she totally would've just skipped today.

As the seconds ticked by, she furtively began sticking her things in her book bag and putting her jacket on, eyes glued to the clock. In her peripheral vision, she could see her fellow classmates doing the same.

Fists clenched in agony and eyebrows furrowed in an almost worried expression she saw the minute hand continue its slow march around the clock, passing the twelve on the top. He was still lecturing! It was time to go. If only he wasn't standing directly in her path to the exit! If only she had gotten to class earlier so she could have grabbed a seat by the door!

Thankfully fate decided not to be too cruel and after only going over two minutes, the professor looked at his watch in surprise.

"Well, I suppose it's the hour. Don't forget to read the article I handed out at the beginning of class for next week. There are questions already on the syllabus…" he continued, but as soon as he had finished his second sentence half of the class was already out the door.

_Freedom!_

Kagura happily trotted to the exit of the building, as she headed in the direction of the café. About once a week she met Yomi and Ayumu there.

As she neared the street it was on, she saw Ayumu approaching from the other direction, a striped scarf fluttering behind her.

A grin broke out on her face as she raised one hand in greeting. Ayumu seemed to look through her for a moment before her eyes focused in recognition.

"Heeey," she called, response being carried by the wind. It was funny how her voice still held that lazy sort of mellow tone to it.

Hiking her bag further up on to her shoulders, Kagura jogged the rest of the distance between them.

"Hey, what's up?" she said in greeting.

"Aw, nothin'. I just got one of my papers corrected," the other girl replied, brandishing the copy of her essay, covered in illegible scrawls.

Kagura looked at it for a moment, seeing almost more red ink than black and considered offering her condolences.

"Well, we probably should just head in, I wonder if Yomi's already there."

After getting their food, they spotted Yomi at a table by one of the windows reading a newspaper and drinking what was either coffee or tea.

As they put their trays down, the other woman looked up offering a half smile.

"Hi guys. How'd your mornings go?"

"Good."

"Yeah, nothing much to report."

"How did your class go?" Kagura asked.

"Actually, it was cancelled," Yomi smugly replied over her cup of tea.

"Oh man! You suck!" Kagura berated her good-naturedly, "I would've paid good money for my history class to be cancelled."

"It's that bad?" Yomi asked.

"You bet."

Osaka was content to half listen to the two converse as she sipped her drink.

"Well, it's not like my morning was uneventful, Tomo slept through her first class…" Yomi realized her error a few seconds too late," anyway, it all ended up fine though."

Kagura wasn't sure what to say. She would have liked to have said something like 'I'm not really all that mad at her'. But she didn't want Yomi going and telling Tomo that and Tomo looking at it like she hadn't done anything wrong. She actually was still a bit miffed at the wildcat.

For a few pregnant moments there was an awkward lull in conversation. Kagura began eating her food. She commented on the taste and the rest of the meal continued in silence for some time.

"Hey, you've got a four star day, Miss Kagura," Osaka suddenly cut in.

"What?" both women asked in surprise.

Osaka pointed to one of the sections of the newspaper that Yomi had had tossed aside.

"Your horoscope. This is your sign, right?" Kagura nodded. "'Lockin' away your negative feelins is just as bad for ya as overeatin'.' And then it says some stuff about planets or somethin'."

"Man, these things are always so stupid," Kagura grumbled. Yomi nodded in agreement, looking bored with the direction the conversation had turned.

"But a four star day. That's pretty good," Osaka pointed out.

"Well, I'll let you know tomorrow if it ended up being a four star quality day, ok?"

Looking very serious, Osaka nodded in reply. "Mmm hmm!"

"Well, sorry to cut my stay short, but I've gotta head over to work," Yomi began, "I'm sure I'll see you two soon. Give me a call if anything comes up or if you want to hang out this weekend."

She gathered up the rest of the newspaper, letting Osaka know she could keep the section that contained the horoscopes.

The other two said their farewells before continuing their lunch, Osaka thanking her.

"Y'know… it's right though," Osaka said.

"What's right?"

"That ya can't uhh 'lock away your negative feelins'," Osaka read from the paper again.

"What do you mean?" Kagura asked, playing ignorant. She had a pretty good idea though of what Osaka was getting at.

"Just give Tomo a call and see if she wants ta talk. If she says no, then that's her problem. I mean, ya've known each other for like… I dunno four or five years. It's gotta be worth a little more effort than either of ya are putting forth."

Once again, Kagura was confused by this much more serious Osaka. This wasn't the Osaka that was full of random comments or the Osaka that walked through life as if she was dreaming.

"Well, I guess we'll see if it's going to be a four star day after all."

llllllll

Tomo was lying on the couch flipping through T.V. channels. Nothing was on. Not that game show where they did the stupid stunts. Or that hospital drama with the really cheesy acting. Not even a reality T.V. show that piqued her interest. Cooking? Boring. Cartoons? Hmm… this could be a possibility. No wait, they were educational cartoons. News? No way.

She was about to give up and go take a nap until Yomi got home when the phone rang.

Trudging over to where the portable was she picked it up and pressed the 'talk' button.

"Yeah?"

"Tomo?" the voice on the other line asked.

Realizing who it was she responded coldly, "Yomi's not here. She won't be back until later."

"No, Tomo…. I… I wanted to talk to you. I'm sorry I blew up at you yesterday. I've had a lot of pressure on me this past year and I guess… well, the thing at the party kinda put me over the edge. Sorry I took it out on you," Kagura said, sounding sincere. She waited a couple of moments for a reply, only to be greeted with silence. First she was confused but that quickly passed into anger. She was really putting herself out on a limb here and Tomo couldn't bring even herself to recognize that? Maybe the problem was a lot worse than she had thought. Maybe Tomo was really a bigger jerk than she had wanted to accuse her of being. Before she could make an angry comment Tomo finally decided to react to the apology.

"Where are you now?"

"… outside your building," Kagura admitted.

"Come on up. I'll buzz you in."

Then there was a click signifying that the other party had hung up. Shortly after, Kagura heard the buzz of the door being unlocked.

Reaching Tomo and Yomi's apartment door she knocked a few times, fidgeting nervously.

The door swung open and both women stared at each other for a few seconds, trying to gauge the other's mood.

"Well, come on in. You're not gonna just stand there in the hallway all night, are you?" Tomo said, grinning.

Sighing in relief, Kagura walked in and took her shoes off at the door.

"So, were you just… passing through?"

"Something like that."

"Well, let's go sit in the living room… which is actually… right here," Tomo said, pointing to a couch that was only a few steps from the doorway before continuing, "Have you been here yet? I don't remember you visiting since you moved back…"

"Remember err before the party, I came to get you guys? I mean, I didn't really get to see much of the place because we were only here for like five minutes. But yeah, I've been here. It's a nice set up."

"Thanks. Well, Yomi picked out most of the stuff and she keeps it pretty clean."

"Hm."

"…yeah… Well, about what you said. Sorry I screwed up your party for you. I didn't mean to piss you off for real."

"It's ok. I just… well, yeah, it's been a crappy year. Things are starting to get better, but I guess I'm still a little paranoid about stuff."

"Yeah, you never told any of us what's been up. Like why you transferred and why you lost touch with like everybody except Sakaki for awhile. Until like a month ago, I hadn't heard from you for like four or five months. And then you just show up out of nowhere like it's high school all over again and you just joined Miss Yukari's homeroom."

"Yeah, I know… But I don't know if I really want to talk about it…" she said before weighing her options. _Well, now's a good a time as any._

Tomo looked at her expectantly as she opened her mouth to continue, "Ok, I… I was having some trouble with people on the team over there, back at my old school. And Sakaki ended up getting dragged into it. You know… we weren't that far from each other and so she'd visit me a lot on the weekends," Kagura's voice broke at this, tears slowly spilling down her cheeks, "And it was really rough… and back a few months ago my grandpa on my dad's side passed away and I just sort of took that as a sign that I needed to be closer to home."

Tomo, who had never thought of herself as being good at comforting people, wrapped one of her arms around Kagura's shoulders and pulled her close.

"Shit, Kagura. You should've _told_ somebody. I mean, geez… at least Sakaki was there though, right?"

The other girl tried to pull herself together before continuing, "Sort of. I didn't want her to get anymore involved than she already had been so I asked her to stop coming."

"Wait a sec… what actually _happened_?"

"Well, I guess I pissed off some of the upperclassmen on the team… I was doing real well, but maybe too well for a freshman and I guess I bumped some people down. That's the only reason I could think of…"

"Well, it's a sport… it's competitive. That's what happens."

"Yeah well, apparently even in sports there are politics. You'd think it'd be simple like that. Swim as fast as you can and that's all you've gotta worry about. That's how it was in high school. Anyway, they saw how Sakaki and I were close and she'd come to some of my meets on the weekends and we actually went to an invitational at her University one weekend. They started spreading rumors to the point where people in my hallway were complaining to my resident advisor that we were in the shower together… and other things. And if we kept it all to the room that was one thing… "

Kagura's tear stained face was now beet red, and she resolutely waited for Tomo to pull away.

"How much of it was true?" Tomo asked, voice sounding more curious than accusatory.

The question put Kagura on her guard, "Why do you care?"

"Hmm… so… some of it, at least then? Though I can't really imagine Sakaki being out going enough to do it in a campus sho-"

Kagura suddenly pulled away and stood up shouting at the other woman, "Shut up! Sakaki didn't do _anything_! I wasn't dating her, ok? Is that all you wanted to know? Man, I'm an idiot. I should've known better than to talk to you… I honestly don't know what possessed me to think that you'd give a damn… I just figured that you and… well, nevermind. I should just shut my mouth before I say anything else stupid."

"What? What'd you 'figure'?" Tomo inquired, unfazed by Kagura's wrath.

"Well, that you and Yomi were… together."

Tomo's expression went blank for a minute before she threw herself onto her side in a fit of laughter.

Kagura just looked at her, completely exasperated, and waited for the guffaws to die down.

"Oh, that's rich," Tomo said still laughing a bit, wiping the corner of her eye which had started to tear up.

After another long pause in conversation, Tomo unexpectedly asked her companion, "You think she'd go for that?"

"What?! What the hell was all that laughing for?"

"I dunno. It still sounds kinda crazy. But I'd like to stick with Yomi for as long as it lasts, y'know? She's the only person who's been able to tolerate me for this long. And I like you all just fine, but Yomi's special, I guess."

"Well… if you're serious…. I dunno. You've got to prove to her that you are."

"What about you and Sakaki?"

"I already told you. We weren't dating. Nothing happened."

"Did you want something to?"

"…"

"aha! You _did_, didn't you!" Tomo crowed triumphantly.

Kagura looked annoyed, "That's besides the point. I thought we were talking about you and Yomi here. Besides being your eternal caretaker, has she shown any interest in you? Does she even date? She's always seemed kinda like the uhh, no offense meant, nerdy type to me. But still, you'd think by this age she'd have had at least one boyfriend."

"Well, she sort of did… her first year at university… we weren't rooming together then. We probably had our biggest fight ever over it actually."

"So, in other words you've probably adored Yomi just about forever, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess… something like that. Really good friends are hard to come by. Everyone thinks your quirks might be funny at first, but… after awhile they sort of give up on you, if they weren't able to tell right off the bat that they weren't going to be able to stand you. Hehe My first roommate lasted less than a week."

"… and you say that like it's something to be proud of."

Tomo ignored that comment and continued with her story, "Anyway, so this guy, he's not really good looking or anything, but he's smart and he seems nice and all and after talking with Yomi at one of those stupid first year mixers that they have to get all the freshman to make new friends, he asks her out on a date."

"Don't tell me you were standing over her shoulder the entire time he was talking to her… probably adding in your own obnoxious commentary…"

"Well, yeah," Tomo carried on, not seeing the point Kagura had been trying to make, "so they're going out, she doesn't really say anything to me about it like it's no big deal. Hello! Big deal! But you know how she is, trying to act all cool about everything. Like she never gets ruffled."

"Yeah?"

"So, they go on a few dates and I can tell, she's loving the attention. She would've never admitted to it at the time, but I really think she just wanted someone to treat her special. Yomi's such a perfectionist. She feels like she's gotta be it all. Like everyone is expecting that of her or something and if she can't reach that goal, then she's failed somehow. You know how she was with dieting in high school… I still worry about her sometimes."

"Worry? You were the one who gave her the hardest time about that back then!"

"Yeah, 'cause it was stupid. She's not supermodel thin, but that's because it's not her body type. She's not fat either though I still think that's how she looks at herself. Y'know… it's not fair, if I could give her my metabolistic rate, I would."

"Metabolic?... metabolism… something like that…"

"Yeah, that, whatever it is. So, I see this guy a lot… y'know… around… and stuff."

"You were stalking him, weren't you?"

"Stalking has such a negative connotation… I prefer, to call them 'random encounters'. The bastard must've caught on, but I'll get to that in a second. So, I find out, he was totally cheating on her. He had a girl back home and one weekend when Yomi was busy working on a really big project, I saw him and the original girlfriend making out in the parking lot. I tried to tell Yomi, and of course she didn't believe me… so… she found out herself. Gave him a call that weekend and the girlfriend picked up the phone… and well, they both kinda realized it at the same time. What a dumb ass… leaving her in the room by herself to answer the phone. But he tried to put some of the blame on _me_ and must have accused Yomi of sending me to spy on him. Well, we didn't talk for about two weeks after that and eventually she said she was sorry… kind of. And that was that," Tomo took a deep breath and then exhaled.

"I'm not gonna lie… the fact that you were stalking him kinda creeps me out, but I'll just leave it at that."

"Well, I just wanted to make sure he wasn't a crazy drug addict or something, at first, and I noticed how he'd spend long amounts of time on the phone. He'd never call Yomi like that. If they called each other it'd be a short 'meet you there at thus and such a time' conversation' and guys don't spend long amounts of time chit chatting with their buddies on their cell phones. And I got close enough to hear once and he was _definitely_ using pet names so I decided he was either gay and had a boyfriend somewhere or he had another girlfriend."

"You thought he was gay?"

"Not really, it just seemed like it fit the topic of conversation."

Kagura resisted the urge to smack the wildcat across the back of her head.

"So, Kagura, anyone know about you besides me and Sakaki?"

"Nope."

"So I can use this all as collateral in the future? Especially the bit about the show-"

"If you say one more word, even joking about that, I'll take you down so fast you won't know what hit you," Kagura threatened.

"Woah, ok. No more."

"Good."

"Fantastic."

"Now what?"

"I dunno… I'm exhausted though… this whole soul baring confession thing takes a lot out of you. We've still got about a little over an hour until Yomi gets back."

"What've you got to drink?"

"Coconut rum."

"Let's bust that stuff open."

"Don't you have practice tomorrow?"

"Not until the afternoon and it's the off season so it doesn't matter as much anyway."

"Sweet."

llllllll

Tired from her long day, Yomi was glad to finally be getting back to the apartment where she could relax. Well, to some extent. It really depended on the mood Tomo was in, but she figured they could at least have a more or less peaceful dinner. As she slowly ascended the stairs to her floor (_Maybe today would've been a good day to take the elevator._) she could swear she heard music blaring. As she got close enough she was positive that she was hearing music, that was loud, and it most definitely was coming from behind her door.

Slipping the key into the lock she cautiously opened the door, afraid to find out what was happening within.

"Oh no you didn't," Yomi cursed under her breath.

The entire bottle of coconut rum was empty, lying on its side, and it looked like someone had found the bottle of saké Yomi had hidden from Tomo in her room.

"YOMI!" a dark haired form tumbled into her. Tomo giggled as they collided, effectively shutting the door as Yomi was pushed into its frame. The shorter girl snuggled into her roommate's chest as Kagura whistled and shouted something that sounded like "You go, Tomo!" from the other side of the room.

"_Kagura?!_" Yomi cried, the athletic woman being the last person Yomi had expected to find at home with Tomo.

Thinking of Tomo, the smaller woman was now hanging from her. Attempting to get over to the stereo so she could cut off whatever awful noise was being emitted from it, she was annoyed to find that Tomo wouldn't let go.

She tried prying the other girl off.

"But I luff you Yomi. With all uff my heart."

Giving up, she dragged Tomo along with her

As soon as the music was turned off, she evaluated the situation of the apartment. It seemed like nothing had been broken… no visible stains on the floor. It didn't seem like either of the two had gotten sick. Though how they would feel in an hour or so might be another story entirely. Knowing Kagura and Tomo, they had probably pounded back whatever they had drunk, one chug after the next.

"I can't even believe… I… I don't even want to know. I don't want to know. I have class tomorrow. You _both _have class tomorrow."

Tomo just grinned up at her lazily.

…_I think it's going to be a long night._

Kagura had at some point decided to collapse on the couch and from her prostrate position a muffled cry of "Four star day!" could be heard.

_Definitely a long night…_

Author's Notes: Tomo probably shouldn't be drinking coffee. Ah well, as long as normally they'd both be going their separate ways to different classes, it's not really Yomi's problem to deal with.: p

Somewhere in between lunch and the meeting between Tomo and Kagura… Kagura probably had swim practice. But… I don't think it's really an important detail. It just seems like she's got a lot of free time in this… but she's probably only got like… 12 credit hours. And her and Tomo probably don't do homework all that often, Kagura's visits to work on English with Ayumu aside.

Uhh… so I got to possible pairings. Can't believe I typed up this many pages in a week.--; Honestly… and sometimes this seems to get a bit unwieldy and I'm loathe to completely cut out scenes I've already typed, but… I actually do go back and reread things (and this could probably use at least one or two more rereads… but I'm lazy). Again, this in no way is really meant to resemble Japanese University life… but it's supposed to be vaguely located there… Had Japanese been my chosen language to learn over the years, maybe I would have a better idea. And don't worry, there won't be a drunk scene in probably any more chapters. Just as drunk people in real life can be annoying, using alcohol in a fic to further the plot is probably not necessary.

Thanks again to the people who have left reviews.

Sorry if people are pissed that some of the girls are interested in each other. I did say shoujo ai in the rating disclaimer area in all three chapters. Ah well, what can ya do if people don't read those?

And I ripped off the horoscope from Yahoo… I don't remember what sign or day.

And actually, the bit with Sakaki and Kagura… it was based off of a very similar rumor that was going around here. People's reactions were kind of crazy (and complete with fire and brimstone proclamations). It's rather strange what something that only makes up a part of what a person is like sexual orientation or religious background can make normally nice and rational people go off the deep end. And on a somewhat related note, maybe Sakaki will make some appearances eventually.


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. And I can't think of anything really witty to say about that.

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and shoujo-ai. Hoorah.

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

**Chapter 4**

Kagura and Tomo sat across from each other at a café several days after Kagura had stopped by the apartment to talk. It was now the weekend and they hadn't really had much of a chance to hang out since their chat the other night. Tomo had wanted to wait for an opportunity to just be able to talk with Kagura without having to invite Yomi along.

Besides the casual greetings, nothing much had been said yet. Kagura looked around nervously, desperately trying to think of something harmless to start a conversation with.

"It's pretty cold outside…"

"Yup."

"Heard it's supposed to snow this week."

"Oh really?"

"…yeah."

Kagura scratched the side of her neck, looking embarrassed. Maybe they should've met somewhere more private. Maybe this was a bad idea. She'd considered more times than she could count that what she'd told Tomo the other day was probably not the smartest move on her part. Someone more sensible like Yomi would've been a better person to tell her sorrows to. Or just keep it all inside and pretend it never happened. But there was that small possibility of a light at the end of the tunnel.

She sighed. They really were all a bunch of misfits.

Tomo on her side of the small circular table was beginning to squirm. The chair wasn't all that comfortable. It was too hot in the café. Maybe she should take off her coat. But if things continued going nowhere fast she wanted to be able to bolt out of there. Hmm. What to do? Seeing the worried expression that passed over Kagura's face, she was moved to try to show a little solidarity, no matter how insecure they both were.

"Hey, Bonkura?" the wildcat suddenly asked.

"Eh?" Kagura looked at her companion, curious.

"We've got each others' backs in this, right?"

Kagura blinked a few times before smiling. Maybe things were actually going to turn out ok.

"It's been awhile since I thought of that… Once a Bonkura, always a Bonkura, huh?"

"That's what I was thinkin'."

"Just missing Ayumu then."

"Osaka," Tomo corrected.

"You know she never really liked that nickname."

"Well, she'll always be Osaka to me. And hey, you two hang out a lot, riiight?" Tomo said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"I'm never going to hear the end of it, am I? Look, just because I am what I am doesn't mean I have no standards."

"Ouch. Poor Osaka."

"Wait, that sounds bad. What I mean is that I'm not going to act on anything unless I know the other person's interested. If you get what I mean."

"Ah, darn. Thought I was onto something there."

Kagura just rolled her eyes. _Moron._

Tomo's eyes widened, as she realized yet another possibility.

"What about me?" she asked.

"What?! I'd rather drop dead," Kagura snorted, "'Cause yeah, I actually bring back what I said earlier. I've got standards and I think we'd kill each other. We wouldn't last more than a week."

"I see. You're just trying to be _diplomatic_ about it. You know I'm taken, so you've got to act the gentlewoman. It's ok Kagura, it's not you, it's me," Tomo melodramatically elaborated, one hand over her heart as she nodded sadly.

"You're a piece of work, you know that?"

Tomo winked in response before once again looking serious.

"But nobody else here knows, right?"

"Except you… unless you've told people already," Kagura bitterly muttered the last part under her breath.

"So that's what I get for being your shoulder to cry on? I'm just curious is all."

"Sorry, I did feel better after I told you… it's just… you're not the most discrete person…" and then Kagura thought about what she was saying, "Well, actually, in the end of it all I think I don't really care anymore if people know. It was just so unfair how Sakaki got roped into _my_ mess."

Tomo disregarded the remark on her lack of good judgment, deciding to prod a little further. "Have you talked to her at all since then?"

"…not really. I gave her a call once. To tell her how sorry I was. And you know Sakaki. She's not that much of a conversationalist to begin with and we both don't like talking on the phone all that much… bottom line it was awkward. Extremely awkward," Kagura explained, running a hand through her hair.

"Hmm. Maybe we should make a trip out there…" Tomo suggested.

"No. I really don't think that's a good idea."

"Aw come on. If she came to see you almost every weekend-"

"Let's just forget about it. I've got a lot of other things to focus on right now and I really don't want to deal with any more drama at the moment."

"Well, if you say so. Kinda hypocritical if you ask me though," Tomo insinuated while at the same time attempted to look innocent.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kagura bit out, getting annoyed rather quickly.

"I'm just sayin', you tell me to go after Yomi when you don't even have the guts to try to _talk_ with the person you care about. Don't you even want to be friends with her anymore? You ran away from your problems once, you just going to keep doing that?"

Kagura was starting to look furious. Tomo just smirked in response, happy to rise to the challenge._ Takin' the bait hook, line and sinker._

"What the hell could you _possibly_ know?" Kagura hissed, leaning over the table and even angrier to see that Tomo appeared to be amused by the fact that she was upset.

"What I know is that somewhere along the line my old dimwit of a friend Kagura lost her confidence. Now she lets her worries stop her from going after what she wants. Stop thinking so much. You never were good at it. This is from one knucklehead to another. I'm ready to take what might be the dumbest risk of my life, and that's sayin' a _lot_. I wanted to meet with you to see if you could help _me_ out, but it does look like you have a lot to work out for yourself."

Kagura spluttered for a moment, trying to think of an adequate response before giving up.

Her friend just stood up, leaned over the table to ruffle Kagura's short locks. "Call me if you wanna talk again, 'kay?"

Tomo then grabbed her purse and headed out the door with a smug "Ciao" after she had turned her back to Kagura who sat speechless.

_Tha-that… that _bitch! _Did she just accuse me of being a coward? _Idiot, dumb as a box of rocks Tomo had just lectured her. Kagura had never claimed to be a genius, but she also didn't go around telling people they weren't living their lives satisfactorily.

Her mind was reeling and it took several minutes to put things back in perspective. Once she came back to herself, she remembered she was in a public place and it probably wasn't very becoming to sit there and gape.

_I suppose I do have a lot to figure out. _She looked back to the table to see their untouched drinks. _Wait a second… Damn it, Tomo! _But by that time the other woman was long gone and she was stuck with the bill.

llllllll

Osaka stared at her ceiling. Judging by the shadows in her room and the quality of the light coming in from the window… it had to be after 9:00.

Maybe she should get up. Maybe.

She leaned over so she could see her digital alarm clock. Ah, only 9:30. A couple more hours couldn't hurt. Yawning, she rolled over and pulled the covers over her head.

llllllll

Yomi had gone out to get some groceries only to come back and see a note on the refrigerator door.

'Gone out for a walk. Be back soon.'

Underneath the message something was scribbled out before in her characteristically messy script, the writer of the note signed her name.

'_Tomo_'

'_Out for a walk'? What is that supposed to mean?_ Yomi thought it better to ignore her inner naggings, which suggested that something strange was going on. For indeed, something odd did appear to be occurring, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Besides the fact that Tomo never had before took morning walks by herself on the weekends, her roommate had seemed to be acting excitable but in a more jumpy way versus her normally enthusiastic self.

She had never seen Tomo... nervous. She had always been fearless to the point of being foolhardy. Reckless, impromptu, self-absorbed… but those were the qualities of Tomo she was by now familiar with. Those peculiarities were expected if not completely embraced. If anyone was supposed to be neurotic, it should have been her after all these years of dealing with the shorter woman.

Most people couldn't handle the energetic girl's attitude for any prolonged period of time.

In fact, Yomi remembered the first roommate Tomo drove out.

She had been coming to visit, at Tomo's loudly voiced request, and came upon a large pile of suitcases and boxes in the hallway outside of Tomo's door.

She wondered if perhaps this wasn't a good time and considered turning back when a short girl with long brown hair emerged from the room. She looked like she was trying to drag what appeared to be a fold up couch.

Yomi put down her things, leaning them against a wall, and quickly went over to help the girl.

"Thank you so much," the girl said.

"Don't mention it," Yomi replied, "Where are you taking all this stuff?"

"Well," the girl looked anxiously from side to side before leaning in and whispering, "I'm moving out. My roommate well, she's… she's _crazy_."

Yomi just nodded politely before leaning over to read the door sign.

"Tomo Takino?" she asked, not all that surprised.

"Yes, that's her," the girl continued to whisper.

"Hm," Yomi responded, looking indifferent, but actually curious to hear this girl's grievances.

"You would think a roommate would have a respect for other people's property. Or have some sort of standards for behavior. A sense of decency. I-I do not appreciate it when people touch my things without permission. She also has some very strange practices… And you should hear the things she _says_."

"It sounds like you've had a difficult first few days."

"Oh yes. And," once again the girl waved her close as if to tell a secret," she brought _alcohol_ in the room," she explained looking positively scandalized, "She said she was going to have some friends over for a _party_ tonight. I could get in trouble for even knowing about this. Please don't tell anyone."

Yomi promised the smaller girl that the information was safe with her and helped her load her things on a cart before watching her disappear down the hall.

As soon as the ex-roommate was out of sight, Tomo appeared from the opposite direction.

"Nutcase," Tomo remarked.

"I didn't believe you when you told me on the phone… but… yeah, she's crazy," Yomi agreed, "Though maybe pretending to practice voodoo was taking it a bit too far."

"Hmm… maybe. It's no creepier than color coordinating your entire closet. Not to mention alphabetizing it. Accessories, blouses, cardigans, dresses… I think she was more worried about the vodka than the voodoo books though."

"I can't really blame her for that. You probably don't need to consume anything that impairs judgment."

"Hey! Whose side are you on?"

Yomi shrugged, "Just stating the facts," before she looked to the side at her friend and grinned.

The two had a good laugh.

That was over two years ago. Now, somehow they were living together. She remembered the day she told Osaka. Actually, Kagura and Sakaki were there, too. It was in the middle of the summer. They were waiting on Tomo and were all going to go to the movies. Everyone was home for summer vacation and they had finally found a day when everyone had off of work and was in town. They had been discussing their plans for the upcoming semester when Yomi decided to inform them.

"Tomo and I are getting an apartment," Yomi said. Kagura choked on her protein shake, Sakaki for once wasn't wearing a mask of disinterest, and Osaka slowly walked over and lifted her bangs, eyes focusing on her forehead.

"Uhh, Osaka? What are you doing?"

"Lookin' for the brain transplant scars."

"Wha?"

"They did a pretty good job hidin' 'em."

Kagura started choking again, this time with poorly contained laughter. Sakaki patted the athletic girl's back, looking worried.

In the present, Yomi smiled to herself. It was all pretty funny, in retrospect. Sometimes her friends could be impossible, but there was no denying that they had some good times together. Lost in nostalgia and forgetting Tomo's strange behavior, Yomi finished putting away the groceries.

llllllll

Tomo shivered, puffs of warmth entering the air as she exhaled. She had lost her gloves somewhere. Maybe they were still at the café. Too bad. She couldn't go back now. Not after the cocky way she had just walked out on Kagura. She had wanted to prove a point, but once again, maybe she had gone too far. _Ah well, sometimes the truth hurts._

Her mind turned back to her own problems. How was she going to do this? She desperately didn't want to screw up.

She had to think of a different way to express herself. After talking with Kagura she realized the other woman was in no state to be giving her advice. She was on her own and for once, she couldn't even depend on Yomi.

Scared to go home, yet very much just wanting to be in their cozy apartment sitting on the couch next to Yomi, drinking a cup of something warm.

On her right she noticed a park. She decided to stop for a bit and sit down to think. She needed a plan.

llllllll

Kagura was heading back from her get together with Tomo. Coming from this direction, she would pass right by Osaka's dorm. She knew that the other girl most likely wouldn't be awake yet. It was far too early on a weekend, but at the same time, if she didn't get up she probably wouldn't eat breakfast or lunch. Kagura herself had missed breakfast and was beginning to get hungry.

Changing her destination she headed towards Osaka's building. Climbing up the stairs to her floor she rapped on her door several times. For a second she heard nothing but then there was a loud crash. _That's here jumping from halfway down her loft. And in the process will probably knock over her alarm clock._ Then it sounded like something fell over and there was a moan of displeasure before the lock was undone and door opened.

Osaka stood there, looking more asleep than awake. She was wearing magenta pajama pants with a star and moon pattern and a white camisole as a top, one strap sliding off her shoulder.

"Miss… Kagura?" the girl asked groggily.

"Hey, Ayumu. Sorry to wake you up. I just was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat before the dining hall closes."

"Yeah, sure," she yawned, "I jus' gotta change."

"Ah, ok. I'll wait out here for you then."

"'Kay."

The door shut and Osaka emerged a few minutes later wearing much the same outfit but with the addition of a sweater over her camisole and some fuzzy pink slippers. Her set of keys and numerous keychains jingled as she moved.

"You're going out like that?"

"Huh? Yeah… I was thinkin' I'd change after I showered today. Or maybe I'd go back to bed."

_Back to bed?_ "Uh, I was actually wondering if you wanted to do something today. Last time I saw you was at lunch the other day. Figured I'd tell you that Tomo and I made up." _Though she_ does_ owe me money._

"Aw, I'm so happy," Osaka smiled dreamily, giving the other girl a hug. Kagura blushed a bit as she awkwardly returned the embrace.

"Um, well, how about we head to the dining hall and we can discuss things there."

"Ok," Osaka murmured happily.

The lethargic girl turned around after loosening her hold on Kagura, much to the other girl's relief, and locked her door. The two then walked off side by side, catching up on some of the more mundane happenings of the past few days.

Author's Notes:

Hee Azumanga drama or has it gotten to the point of being melodrama? ¡Qué va!X D What is this 'melodrama' you speak of? (melodrama: a dramatic or other literary work characterized by the use of stereotyped characters, exaggerated emotions and language, simplistic morality, and conflict-Encarta World English Dictionary) Hmm… eheh… well, what can ya do? (Guilty as charged, I suppose.)

It's kind of irritating that only half of Sakaki and Kagura's names are known. Ah well, I'm not going to give them names so… we'll just have to deal with it.

The brain transplant joke was probably inspired by a Calvin & Hobbes strip… I'm pretty sure there's one where Calvin accuses Susie Derkins of getting a prefrontal lobotomy. Ah well, I could see Osaka saying something like that.

Yay for crazy roommates.

And sorry, Sakaki gets semi-included but Chiyo is still off somewhere… studying hard. Go Chiyo-chan! You can do it! And after you've got your undergrad degree you can come back completely ignorant of all the theatrics that you've missed. Or maybe you're just so smart that you'll be the youngest to graduate from M.I.T. and you'll go back to Japan to teach an irreverent class that reminds you a lot of your days in high school. You also will have an emo talking animal companion and be monitored from space by aliens. (anyone who doesn't get what this is a reference to can ignore pretty much this whole paragraph… anyone who does get the allusion gets an imaginary cookie)

Osaka seems to sleep a lot… sometimes though, I think that if I didn't have people to see and things to do, I could happily sleep the weekend away. Especially if it's been a rough week.

Oh yes, thank you again for the reviews!: D Take care, everybody!


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. I'm just leeching off of someone else's creativity.99;;

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and shoujo-ai. Or shoujo luff… a close relative of fluff. In other words… at the moment everything's pretty much subtext.--;

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

**Chapter 5**

She was working on an assignment on her laptop. Looking over at the corner of her screen she saw that her computer time read 12:07. Tomo was still on her "walk" and had been for several hours now. She had called her roommate's cell phone an hour ago only to hear the familiar ring tone from behind the other woman's door. It was probably on her nightstand… or on the floor somewhere. Yomi did most of the cleaning around the apartment but she drew the line at Tomo's room and her laundry. They at one time had divided up the chores, but the shorter girl's general disinterest in organization led to jobs being either poorly done or never finished. But as long as Tomo refrained from any sort of harebrained schemes Yomi didn't mind taking care of most of the housework. Her last off the wall idea had been first semester. The flooring in Tomo's room still had spots from when she had aspirations to become the next Miró.

"If he can paint dots on a white background and make millions, then so can I!"

Needless to say, her get rich quick scheme was short lived. As was her interest in her art class. Tomo had yet to really find her niche. Osaka had burst her bubble when she informed her that INTERPOL was used more for information relaying than for actual law enforcement. She had actually seemed genuinely crushed that basic training wouldn't include "driving a car backwards while shooting". Yomi tried not to think too much about where Tomo got her ideas.

Glancing at the clock, she saw that over ten minutes had passed since she had last checked the time. She hadn't typed another word. Sighing, she got up and went over to the door. Putting on her coat and gloves she took her keys out of her purse and unplugged her cell phone from the charger. Walking out she locked the door behind her.

She wasn't really sure where she was headed to exactly. If she happened to find Tomo along the way, then all the better. It wasn't as if Tomo needed someone to take care of her. _Actually… that's up for debate._ But neither was it like she herself had been getting much work done.

As she exited the building, she was met with a strong gust of wind. She deliberated whether or not she should just give the other girls a call and see if Tomo had met them on her stroll through the neighborhood and if they perhaps had stopped to get something to eat. At the moment though, she couldn't think up another pretense for her call beyond trying to find out if Tomo was ok. Well, she could use the exercise, she supposed.

llllllll

Tomo was still outside. She had decided awhile ago that it was too cold to sit. So now she was shuffling down the sidewalk, hands in her pockets, head ducked down in her coat attempting to ward off most of the wind.

She had tried thinking like Yomi thought. Maybe if she were to act more serious, irritable, and dry she could display her affections in a manner appropriate to Yomi's liking. She had always thought of herself as Yomi's perpetual sidekick. Devoted but impious. Irresponsibly dependable. Obnoxiously loyal. There when Yomi needed her whether the other girl knew it or not, but sometimes present when she wasn't wanted. They fought all the time, but rarely did it matter in the end. There was a sort of tacit understanding between them both. Tomo had reserved for herself a certain place in Yomi's life that no one as of yet had been able to take from her. Well, not for very long at least.

Their fight freshman year… she knew Yomi wasn't as mad at her as she claimed. Tomo had done the only thing she could think of to make things better, offer herself up as Yomi's emotional punching bag. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair, but she thought maybe it had made her friend feel better. It had taken half a month of snubbing, angry glares and sharp words before Yomi had come to terms with her pain.

"You know? I was stupid to think that it would work out, that he'd care. I can't believe I got that upset over it," Yomi had remarked offhand, one of the few things she had said about the incident. Torn up inside, coldly indifferent on the outside. It was heartbreaking.

Tomo remembered following that with an anecdote on how she had walked out in the middle of her physics lab. Handed in her papers two hours early and just left like it was natural. The prof. had been speechless! All so she could meet Yomi for lunch. She remembered how Yomi had berated her for disrespecting her professors and then for telling her they could meet up when Tomo was supposed to be in class. Melancholy mood exchanged for exasperation.

Yomi had never formally apologized for the way she had treated her, but she could tell that things had changed. There was a level of trust that perhaps had not been there before. Their bantering had become more good-natured, Yomi was slightly more tolerant, and Tomo had mellowed accordingly. It wasn't something that hit her right away. The rooming situation had been a big step. While they were in high school, she never would've thought Yomi would go for it. Never in a million years. But there they were and it was working out. Of course, Tomo still messed up every now and then. Yomi had become fully domesticated due to Tomo's apparent inability to be completely house trained.

Her brows furrowed. Perhaps that was part of it. Kagura had said she needed to prove she was serious. Maybe she could start with seriously helping out. For a change. She grinned thinking about Yomi's reaction.

As she turned another corner she bumped into someone with an 'uff'.

"Hey, watch where-" she started, despite the fact that it was she who hadn't been paying attention.

"Tomo?" the voice of the other pedestrian asked.

Tomo looked up into the face of her roommate. She blinked stupidly a couple times.

"Where the hell have you been?" the taller girl asked.

"Out."

"I gathered."

"Uhh… y'know… it's such a great winter day that I thought I'd go for a walk," she said gesturing to the dreary grey skies and the skeletal figures of the trees that lined the sidewalk, completely bare of foliage.

"Before noon on a Saturday?" Yomi was beginning to get suspicious.

"Everyone _knows_ you've gotta go before noon to beat the crowds."

"Riiight. Well, it's cold so I'm going home. You coming?"

"Aren't you on your way somewhere?"

It was now Yomi's turn to be flustered. "Well… I was going to the library… but I forgot my notes back at the apartment. So I might as well just go back with you."

"'Kay."

They both turned in the direction of the apartment, walking at a leisurely pace. Tomo couldn't help but cast a sidelong glance at her companion. After a few moments, Yomi felt someone's eyes on her.

"What?" the taller woman murmured.

Knowing she had been caught, Tomo focused her gaze in front of her, glad for the cold that had already caused her face to become flushed.

"Hmmm?"

"What was that look for?" Yomi asked.

"Oh nothing," Tomo replied secretively.

"Is that so?" Yomi said, doubtful.

On her right, Tomo stopped suddenly.

They had come upon a park with a playground and swing set. _Same place I hung out earlier, we're just on the other side of it now_, Tomo thought, looking at the sign that hung at the gate.

Out of the blue Tomo asked, "Wanna swing?"

"What? It's freezing out!"

"Suit yourself," Tomo walked in through the gate to the abandoned swing set. There didn't seem to be any children running around due to the weather.

Tomo looked back once and grinned. Yomi was still standing outside the gate when Tomo sat down and used her feet to push off and get her started.

"Come on! It's fun!" she shouted, the chains holding up the swing creaking slightly.

After a few moments of indecision, Yomi surrendered to her friend's wishes and took the swing next to her roommate.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered resentfully.

"Oh, stop whining! You're never too old to swing! And what are you going to remember years from now? That it was cold out? That you embarrassed yourself in an empty park? No way!" Tomo cheerfully cried, voice fluctuating as she swung back and forth," But brr these chains are cold!"

It was then Yomi saw that Tomo didn't have any gloves on.

"What happened to your gloves?"

"Hmm… lost 'em," Tomo replied nonchalantly, still smiling.

"…I've some extras at home… take a pair before you go out next time if it's this cold. Until you get some new ones, at least."

"'Sok. It's not so bad if you don't think about it. And, hey! I'm totally beating you!"

"Beating me?"

"I'm going way higher!"

The taller girl just sighed in resignation.

Long suffering Yomi yet again gave in and decided that perhaps she could indulge her inner child, not quite as much as Tomo was and always had, but sufficiently. After all, she had the rest of her life to be an adult.

llllllll

They had stopped to get lunch, or in Osaka's case, brunch. She was still polishing off the Danish she had grabbed on the way out, licking off the extra bits of frosting from one hand before popping the last bit into her mouth.

Kagura didn't have practice that day. Since they weren't in season they only had sporadic one a day organized practices several times a week to keep everyone in shape, all the other days they were to take care of working out on their own. She had gone to the pool earlier that morning and so had been up since before the sun rose. Unlike her companion who made Kagura wonder if it were possible for humans to have the instinct to hibernate during the winter.

It was nice though having Osaka live close. Someone to hang out with and just do the everyday normal things with like get stuff to eat, watch T.V., study… She felt kind of bad that she hadn't talked to her for a couple of days, not that Osaka had complained. She wondered if the other woman had been awake enough even to notice. She knew Osaka at least went to her classes this semester… for the most part.

But she had a good feeling that both of them had missed English yesterday. It was first thing and usually Kagura would give Ayumu a phone call in the morning and they would both meet up on the way to the building their class was held in. Kagura hadn't really been up to going to class ever since talking with Tomo that night.

This morning's conversation hadn't really made her feel better. She had actually felt somewhat sick to her stomach the whole day and even Osaka had noticed, prodding her during lunch and asking if she'd lost her appetite.

Contact Sakaki? Even after she'd learned about the softer side of the other woman, she still was as imposing and beautiful as ever. Tall, dark, and gorgeous is what came to mind. She was athletic without effort, yet completely uninterested in her own innate abilities. What was she _thinking_? She shook herself out of her reverie.

It was all too soon and she didn't think she could handle rejection or any more humiliation. It was better to at least put a semester between things if not an entire year. _Or maybe just _forever

Maybe when… if she was found out here things wouldn't be as bad. Her old university had been much smaller and now she was in a more cosmopolitan location with a lot more diversity. She had avoided making many close new friends this semester because even her supposed "friends" had abandoned her at her other school. But maybe reactions here wouldn't be as harsh. And she had a pretty solid support system here, she thought. At least, Tomo probably would stick by her, even though generally Kagura would consider Tomo to be absolutely unreliable. She had wanted to sock her in the mouth at that party. She once again had started to have somewhat of a social life and like hell was she going to let the idiot wildcat ruin it.

After talking with her this past week though, she realized something Yomi must have long ago, that Tomo was cheeky and wholly irreverent, but she was reliable in her own way. Just as she expected everyone to tolerate and ultimately look past her own faults and anything goes attitude, Tomo herself was just as accepting of all of them and all _their_ more bizarre traits. Granted, Tomo mooched and Tomo took advantage of situations, but Kagura had a feeling that there were very few conditions Tomo placed on all their relationships beyond everyone's ability to endure her loudmouth, rude, and overall obnoxious behavior.

Looking over at the oblivious Osaka, she had the sudden urge to envelope the smaller woman in a hug. It was good to feel cared about and safe again. She was glad she had taken the initiative of contacting all her friends from back home that she knew were going to be in the area when she moved. As she began to look around she realized they had missed their turn about two blocks ago.

"Hey, Ayumu… uhh we went too far."

"Hmmm?" Osaka said looking around, "Huh, guess we did."

"Err… yeah, sorry 'bout that. Guess I lost track and wasn't paying attention."

Osaka laughed a little to herself, "Y'know, that's _my_ job ta zone out."

"haha Yeah, geez. It's been kind of a… strange week. I'm kind of out of it."

"Well, I suppose I can try ta be more alert then ta make up for it," Osaka smiled, "I'll do my best!"

The smaller woman's expression was suddenly more determined. Kagura beamed in response to Osaka's efforts to focus.

Shortly after they made it back to the student residence Kagura lived in. Making it over to Kagura's room, the athletic girl suddenly waved Osaka to a stop, realizing something.

"Uhh… one sec. I gotta clean up a bit."

Kagura opened her door and squeezed inside, somewhat embarrassed at the state of her room. She gathered up everything and tossed it into the armoire, sitting a chair in front of the door so it would stay shut. _Maybe I should do laundry tonight…_

"Hey, sorry. You can come in now."

The room was cramped even with the floor cleaned up. Kagura had a lofted bed that enclosed a desk and mini fridge with a small television set placed on top beneath it. There were other various locations to store books, clothing, food and in one of the corners there was a sink with a medicine cabinet stationed on the wall above it.

"So… you wanna watch a movie or just see what's on T.V.?"

"Either way is fine with me," Osaka said, still studying Kagura's room with interest.

On the desk she saw several framed photographs. Most of the photographs were of all of them. Some were from high school, there was one from this past summer, and then another with Kagura in grey and navy sweats standing next to Sakaki who was wearing a skirt that went down to just above her knees and a navy button up blouse.

"Is this one from your old school?" Osaka asked.

"Uhh, yeah, it was at one of my swim meets. Sakaki came to visit," Kagura felt her mouth go dry at her mention of the other woman's name.

"I feel bad… we didn't get ta see ya swim even once. Next year you let us know when you're competin' and I'll go ta 'em all," Osaka said, resolute.

"That's… that's really nice of you. You don't have to come to them all… they're kind of boring, I mean, for spectators. I never know exactly what time I'll be racing and so you could end up sitting there for hours," Kagura commented, softly, almost moved to tears for the second time this week, "Anyway, let's see what's on T.V.," she tried to cover her expression by leaning over the television set, her back to Osaka.

Osaka noticed the change in mood, but decided to give her friend a little privacy and act like she hadn't seen anything.

lllllll

After their stay at the playground, the two had returned home, Yomi voicing her disinterest in going to the library that afternoon. She would get her work done at the apartment.

As she sat back down in front of her computer, she got online to check her e-mail. It had been a day or two since she had logged onto her account and upon opening her inbox she saw that she had several new messages, but only one from Thursday night was really of interest to her.

She opened it up and started reading. Behind her she heard the door open and felt Tomo's presence behind her. _Way to knock._

"What's up? Anything interesting?"

"Yeah, actually. I got an e-mail from Sakaki. It says she might be coming in this next weekend and was wondering if she could stay at our place. I guess her parents moved out of town so she wouldn't be able to stay at her old home. She also says that she was thinking we could get together a care package to send to Chiyo for her birthday. It's over a month a way, but you know how long stuff like that can take to get over there."

Tomo unexpectedly looked very interested, "Did anyone else get the e-mail?" She herself hadn't checked her own e-mail in over two weeks.

"Uhh, no, actually. That's kind of strange, but maybe she knows that none of you check your own messages and if you did, you'd probably forget to reply," Yomi commented sarcastically.

"haha Yeah… that's probably it. Well, I gotta go call Kagura. Forgot to tell her something earlier."

"Earlier?" Yomi asked, confused.

"Umm, yeah, I err ate breakfast with her today. Didn't I tell you?" _Well, we didn't really eat… but it was around breakfast time…_

"No. Actually, you were kind of acting strange when I asked about it."

"Heheh… that's _crazy_ talk. Why would I care about something like that? Anyway, it's important. Good luck with your homework and all that and it'd be great to have Sakaki over. Tell her she's gotta come see our place. Like definitely for sure."

Yomi watched Tomo leave, looking quizzical. _Things just keep getting weirder and weirder…_

lllllll

The mood had been somber that afternoon. They had stumbled upon the beginning of some movie neither of them had seen before. It was about several characters listening to one of their friends recount a tragic love story from her past. Osaka looked over at Kagura who appeared rather downhearted. _Maybe it wasn't the best idea ta watch a drama…_

As the movie cut to commercials, Kagura's cell phone rang. She flipped her phone open, and Osaka from her seat next to Kagura saw the word "Idiot" flash on and off the screen. _What does she want now?_ Kagura thought, somewhat annoyed at the interruption but at the same time feeling a bit uneasy.

Kagura looked over at Osaka apologetically, "You mind if I get this? It'll probably be short."

"It's ok," Osaka said considerately.

To Osaka's surprise, Kagura left the room to answer the phone._ I guess it's an important call._

In the hallway, Kagura put her phone to her ear after she had pressed a button to accept the incoming call.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Kagura! Guess what?"

Somewhat surprised at Tomo's excited tone she replied a little warily, "What?"

"Guess who's gonna be here next weekend? _Here_, Kagura!"

"I dunno. Beats me. Is there some concert going on?"

"No, you idiot! _She's _gonna be here!" at that proclamation, Kagura's blood ran cold, Tomo continued her ramblings, taking no notice of the silence on the other line, "She wants to stay with Yomi 'n me! You can stay over, too. No funny business or anything, but y'know, happy to help you out."

"…what?" was all Kagura could manage.

"Sa-ka-ki! Geez! How dense are _you_!"

"Yeah… I think… I gotta sit down." And so she did, slumping down on the floor in the hallway.

"Woah woah! Take it easy! Umm… just breathe. Yeah, breathe! It'll be ok."

"Shit… shitshitshitshitshit… How… how the hell?"

"Hey! It's ok! Really! Isn't this what you wanted? I mean, she can't turn you down. You're dead sexy! Yup. Super athletic so you've got a great figure. Smart. Umm… well, not really, but you _did _get better grades than I did a couple times."

Kagura had long since blocked Tomo out, yet still held on to her phone as if it was a lifeline.

"I'd totally take you out on a date! No worries. It'll go great. I'll help you out."

That last line in all its wrongness though did register with Kagura.

"Like hell you will! You aren't going to say a thing!" She heard the gasp on the other line and immediately felt bad.

"Sorry, Tomo… it's just… this is a lot right now. I wasn't planning on this… at all. I probably should go though… I've got Osaka over and I told her this wouldn't be a long phone call."

"Ah… ok. But really, don't stress. It'll go great. Really, I feel it!"

Kagura smiled wanly, "Yeah… great… bye, Tomo," she shut the phone.

Returning to her room she saw that the movie had turned back on, but if she hadn't been into it before, she certainly wasn't interested in watching it now.

"Hey," Osaka said, but as their eyes met, the smaller girl must have noticed the worsening of Kagura's disposition since she had left the room to talk on the phone. "Are you alright?" she asked, looking concerned.

"Actually… no… I'm really not feeling all that great…"

"Did you need me to get you something… or… should I go?"

"Yeah, I think I want to be alone for awhile. I'm sorry… it's not that I didn't want to hang out, I just… have to figure some stuff out."

"O-ok. Well, if you need anything, jus' give me a call. I don't care what time, 'kay?"

"Yeah, thanks, Osaka… you're a good friend," Kagura said softly, obviously still distracted, not noticing her slip up.

Osaka couldn't help but feel a little hurt, but maybe Kagura would explain when she was feeling better. _Did someone die? Or is she in trouble?_ She wanted to ask, but at the same time didn't feel like she had the right to pry. For whatever reason, Kagura didn't feel like she could trust her with the information. _No, that's a bad way of thinkin' about it… she's just upset is all. Things'll be better soon._

"Well, take care of yourself. Call me even if ya just feel like chattin'," Osaka said as she left, not sure if she was getting too pushy.

"Sure thing," Kagura wasn't even able to manage a weak grin. _Sakaki let Tomo and Yomi know, but not me? Is she mad? Or maybe she's still embarrassed… either way, it's all my fault…_

Author's Notes: Tomo isn't well known for having any sort of subtlety to her… neither am I. So it all works out.: 9

In Chapter 3 I kinda threw a lot out there… I was getting irritated by how slow everything was going… so now… I seem to be doing a lot of backtracking in a poor attempt to try and make earlier events seem less contrived.: p

Poor Kagura's so sensitive… and emotional in this…99; I think she just needs a hug sometimes. Speaking of people who need hugs (vaguely related… maybe… not really)…

I'll admit it… Sakaki's not exactly my favorite character. I dunno, she kinda weirded me out sometimes. I absolutely adored Kirika from Noir so I don't know why I don't really like Sakaki all that much. I mean, they're similar. They both have a thing for stray cats, one of their favorite pastimes is staring out the window, and they both have crazy (to different degrees) secret admirers (haha I just made the Kaorin Chloe connection… kind of a stretch, but is it reeeally? Granted, I can't really see Kaorin with throwing knives… but… y'never know… or something). The only really big difference is that Sakaki doesn't kill people for a living… and she doesn't have amnesia. They both just want to be normal.;; Is that too much to ask? That and Kirika wants to live happily ever with Mireille (was I reading too much into the subtext there? Hoho : ) ). And yeah, I'm not particularly fond of Kaorin, but I did feel bad for both her and Chloe a lot during both series. (Oh, and this doesn't mean I'm going to turn Sakaki into some evil character or anything… she's just not one of my favorites from the show. They're all endearing in their own ways though.)

So… according to Wikipedia… Chiyo had her sweet 16 sometime last March. Cool.

Joan Miró is a Spanish surrealist artist. He did what I think was called something like anti objective or non objective surrealism (to see the difference, compare his work with Salvador Dalí's stuff… which is objective surrealism). It is my personal opinion that a lot of Miró's later work was painted just for the sake of selling it to make money (and no, this is not in reference to things like Harlequin's Carnival or Nocturne). Don't quote me on the non objective stuff… I didn't take my art class in English, so it's very possible that I'm either remembering the terms wrong or there's a whole different terminology in English for such things.

This chapter is dedicated to all the nice people who have left reviews.: )

Oh, and I fixed a couple of mistakes in some of the other chapters… no big changes though.


	6. Chapter 6

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters; Kiyohiko Azuma created them. I'm sure other people own rights and whatnot. Ah well, the list doesn't include moi.; )

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and shoujo-ai. Hoo! Rah! Rah!

Somehow this thing still has the same title… ah well, I obviously have yet to come up with anything to replace it.

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

**Chapter 6**

Someone's car alarm blaring at 5:30 that morning had prompted her to get up. She had gone to the gym, ran, came back, showered, forced herself to eat something, and now was contemplating returning to bed to shut out the world for at least a couple hours. She had spent the better part of last night worrying herself sick and cursing her own stupidity for having ever brought her… concerns up with Tomo (of all people!) in the first place.

Part of her knew it was useless. There wasn't a whole lot that could be done right that second, but that didn't seem to phase her overactive imagination which appeared to be mocking her by coming up with every possible failed outcome. Maybe she could just avoid seeing Sakaki altogether, but that would be an obvious snub on her part. Naturally, Osaka would go visit her at Tomo and Yomi's. She'd be expected to be there, too. Maybe she'd get hit by a car or something before then. Or a building would fall on her or possibly a gaping hole would open up in the earth right where she stood and she'd just be completely wiped off the map, effectively putting her out of her misery.

Her confidence as an athlete didn't always seem to cross over to social situations.

Before she could continue that thought further she decided to weigh her options. Stay awake and get nothing but mulling over her issues accomplished or retire to an unconscious state and "forget" her troubles for a while. _Yeah… I just need to go back to sleep._

llllllll

Tomo Takino was an energetic person. She was a get-up-and-go person. She was lively certainly and could be animated to a formidable degree. Productive, however, she was not.

Her enthusiasm tended to be misdirected at best and even chaotic in its more destructive form. Now, though, Tomo was on a mission. Her own personal objective would be put to the side for the moment and she would come to the aid of a friend in need. _'Cause I'm a good person like that._

"Yomi! I'm going to do laundry!!" Tomo called into her friend's room before she picked up her laundry basket with a heave and headed out into the apartment hallway.

Yomi peered out of her recently opened door, seeing the blurred form of her roommate cheerfully head towards their front door. She lazily rolled over to look at her clock. _Laundry? At 7:30…? … I'm going back to bed._

Back in the hallway, Tomo was congratulating herself for her brilliance. Phase one of her elaborate plan was in motion: come up with a completely legitimate excuse to go out of their apartment without Yomi wanting to come along. This was like being a special agent. Now all she had to do was start the loads, separating whites from darks, before heading over to one of the student residences to force Kagura out of the pathetic state she had a feeling she was in.

llllllll

Kagura lay there, unsuccessfully attempting to get back to sleep. She had no desire to get up to face the day, but neither would her mind allow her to fall asleep. Turning over for the umpteenth time, she stared at her wall for several minutes. Just as she was about to turn back over onto her other side, someone began knocking on her door. _Maybe if I act like I'm not here, they'll go away…_

Her visitor was apparently unperturbed by Kagura's lack of response and proceeded to open the door, entering the room. _What the…?_

"Hey, stupid. Stop sulking. Now's no time for a pity party. We're going _shopping_!" the voice said.

_Tomo?! ... did I leave my door unlocked?_

Kagura's annoyed response was to pull the covers over her head.

"Go awaaay," she moaned from underneath her comforter.

"No can do. I let you have all last night to feel sorry for yourself. Hey, I wonder if you're ticklish," Tomo speculated as she reached for an exposed foot.

"hee Stop that!" Kagura, despite herself, began laughing, yanking her foot under the cover.

"haha! So you are! I'm just learning all your secrets, aren't I?" Tomo chuckled, not letting Kagura's weak efforts dismay her from getting the other girl out of her lofted bed.

She climbed up the side and grabbed the end of the comforter, attempting to tug it off, Kagura, however, still had a strong grip on the other side. Just as Tomo was moving up another rung, Kagura gave the blanket a fierce jerk, pulling Tomo along with it.

Tomo gave a cry of surprise as she was pulled over the side and onto the bed, landing half in the other girl's lap.

"hee," Tomo giggled nervously, looking up into Kagura's surprised face.

Both rapidly parted, gazes averted.

"So…"

"…yeah…"

"Why the hell are you here again?"

"_Shopping_, Kagura! _Shop_ping!" Tomo said, quickly regaining her composure.

"Oh… wait, shopping? What does that have to do with you being here, in my room?"

"_We_ are going _shopping_ to buy you something _sexy_ to wear on Friday."

"… what are you talking about? Shopping. As if you know how to dress," Kagura griped.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear what you just said. So, get changed. It's kinda chilly out."

"When throughout this whole conversation did I say I would go with you to go shopping?" Kagura complained.

"Quit your bellyaching. I just so happen to be an extremely stylish dresser when I put my mind to it," Tomo explained haughtily, "Or, at least I'm sure I would be had I ever really seriously thought about it."

"Go home, Tomo. And hey, shouldn't you be getting ready for some sort of date yourself?"

Tomo did look a little put out at this observation. "Well, I figure Yomi will always be there… or at least as long as I continue to help paying rent or until the end of the semester, but Sakaki is coming in for _one_ weekend this year. So this is _your_ chance to make things happen. _I've_ got all the time in the world, but you've gotta take this opportunity and run with it."

"Well, what if I don't wanna?" Kagura almost pouted. Her arms were now crossed as she sat in a defensive position, opposite the other woman.

Tomo just looked at her friend, incredulous. "I never thought _I'd _have to be telling anyone this, but STOP BEING SO CHILDISH! Get over your issues. Unless you plan on being alone forever or marrying, having kids, and being miserable, I'd start accepting myself if I were you. Geez… for crying out loud!"

Kagura looked at Tomo, for a second appearing emotionally wounded, before she gathered herself together.

"I guess you're… kind of… right…"

Tomo nodded, looking very satisfied with herself. "I'd rather be me and then other people have issues with _that_ than me act like something I'm not and have issues with myself. No beating around the bush! No wishy-washy garbage with me. "

"… uh… huh..." Kagura said, looking less than convinced.

"And _that_ is part of my life's philosophy."

"Yes, Tomo Takino, model product of society," Kagura muttered sardonically.

"Damn straight," either not picking up on the other woman's tone of voice, or otherwise choosing to ignore it.

"I suppose this means you aren't going to leave me alone until you get your way" Kagura sighed sulkily.

"You bet," Tomo winked.

"Hmph. Fine. I'll meet you in the lobby in ten."

"You don't trust me to staaay? I won't peek… maybe," she looked over at her companion with a predatory grin.

"The lobby. Ten minutes," Kagura snapped, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. _Pain in the ass._

"Sorry, can't help it. Teasing Yomi about this stuff's gonna be great."

"How can you be so sure of yourself? You've always been like that… Expected things to just work out."

"It's all about perspective, kiddo. And I'm Tomo Takino, so of course it'll all work."

With that Tomo got down from the bed and opened the door.

"See you shortly!" she said as she shut the door behind her.

Kagura frowned. _Just one damned thing after another._

llllllll

In another part of the country another young woman was sitting at her desk, having just finished sending an e-mail.

People rarely made her nervous. For many years she didn't care enough to get hurt by the things they did, just embarrassed every once in a while. She was often happier to daydream than to actually interact. It was easier that way, less confusing. The highs were all fake, just figments of her imagination, but the lows, they weren't so bad. All through elementary school and before high school, she was able to get away with being the obscure one. Not many people had much of an opinion about her presence either way. Then high school hit and she had grown. Tall enough to make most boys uneasy when around her, but the worst was how her chest had suddenly gotten larger.

She didn't understand why people envied her and even less why they respected her. Most of the time she had just tried to ignore that type of attention. The admiration wasn't real, she knew. It couldn't be. The person they loved and revered simply didn't exist.

Miss Sakaki to them was confident. She was courageous. She took on gangs, one against an entire army of thugs. The only part of her that was injured was her hands, from throwing so many punches. She was beautiful, classy, and bright. She was _perfect_.

She wasn't Sakaki the dreamer. The lover of all things cute and cuddly. The lonely girl who just wanted to make friends.

And then… she had. And it was wonderful. But all good things must come to an end. They eventually went their separate ways.

She had never been good at communicating. If she was included in get-togethers during high school, it was because someone invited her, not due to any sort of social maneuvering she had done herself. So, one day when Kagura gave her a call informing her she'd be at her university for a swim meet, she was nothing short of overjoyed. The only other person who she had kept in touch with had been Chiyo. They e-mailed each other frequently. Maya was still at Chiyo's large home in Tokyo, keeping Mr. Tadakichi company. The cat had been a welcome excuse for her to be in contact with the other girl. Last summer she had stayed at Chiyo's for a week during the month the younger girl was home and each year Sakaki organized a birthday package to send to her. That was the stated reason for her visit that was to take place this upcoming weekend. There was one other item on the agenda for this trip…

What to say to Kagura? That she was just as sorry? If only she wasn't so taciturn, she'd take the other girl in her arms and apologize. Tell her that it wasn't fair that people were cruel. That people didn't understand. That most of the time the impression everyone had of you was a lie they constructed for themselves, for better or worse.

It wasn't something that could be done over the phone. Or in a letter. E-mail was too impersonal. She had waited long enough for the perfect reason to see the other woman and hoped bitterness hadn't grown in the wake of her absence.

Things had slowly disintegrated to the point where Kagura, shortly before the first semester of this school year, had asked her not to stop coming altogether. Neither had a very strong phone or e-mail relationship. But Sakaki was loath to let her tie to Kagura completely fall to pieces. It was the other woman's sincerity that she admired. Sometimes it was blunt and a little rough around the edges, but that made it all the more endearing. At first, Kagura had misunderstood Sakaki like all the rest, but the more time they spent together, the more Kagura caught on. And she liked the real her all the same. The athlete put her on the same level as everyone else, and actually… it felt rather refreshing. There were still those challenges that she would confront Sakaki with, teasingly. It had been something normal, something that kept her in touch with reality.

Sakaki leaned her face into her open hands. _Sometimes I miss when things were still simple._

llllllll

When she finally got up, somewhat later than she tended to, it was about half past nine in the morning. Tomo apparently was still doing 'laundry'. As usual, Yomi decided not to over speculate about the activities of her sometimes, no, _almost always_ erratic roommate.

She made a mental checklist of the things she wanted to accomplish for the day, prioritizing them. Starting off with a shower and breakfast, she then went into the living room, cleaning up from the night before. She put the half eaten bowl of popcorn by the sink when their kitchen phone caught her eye. She still had to call both Osaka and Kagura to let them know about this upcoming weekend. She was thinking that perhaps they could see a show and go out to eat beforehand. Tomo seemed much more interested in going clubbing or finding a party, but from what Yomi remembered about Sakaki, she felt the other woman would be more comfortable at a more intimate gathering of just their friends. She also felt it would be a more relaxing trip if it didn't include the three Bonkuras getting plastered. They were hard enough to tolerate when sober.

Yomi chuckled a bit to herself. She still had some rather interesting digital camera video footage that the three idiots had taken (with Yomi's camera, but not with her permission) during one of Kagura's rare visits before she had transferred. Yomi might be above acting like a moron in front of a camera, but she wasn't above saving said footage for future use (translation: blackmail).

She wondered if Tomo had let Kagura know about Sakaki coming in for the weekend when she called her. _And what the heck was all that about yesterday?_ Tomo was up to something and if the other girl hadn't promised upon pain of death (or worse, being thrown out) that there would be no nonsense like what went on during high school, Yomi would be very worried. But besides minor slip ups, Tomo had more or less behaved herself during the time they lived together. Perhaps the two were planning something for some other poor soul. Whoever it was, if Tomo and Kagura were involved, they wouldn't know what hit 'em. _Ah well, it's none of my concern. I suppose I should call Osaka though…_

llllllll

Osaka had been up for some time now. Staring at her ceiling, possibly pondering the deeper questions of life, though most likely her thoughts were focused on the trivial and arbitrary.

Her room phone began ringing. She slowly looked to the side before deciding that she might as well answer it. Maybe it was Kagura.

She had been awake for at least half an hour, but had yet to use her voice so when she answered the phone her voice came out as a sort of crackled murmur, "…hello?"

"Hi, Ayumu. I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"'Sok… I've been awake for a while. Jus' haven't _got_ up yet."

"Ah. I see. Anyway, I was just calling to inform you that Sakaki is coming in next weekend and she wanted us each to get something together to send to Chiyo. You know it's her birthday in about a month," Yomi explained, her tone business-like.

"Huh. Ok. Well, ya wanna jus' go together? All four of us? I can try ta call Kagura. I don't think she was feelin' well last night… but I mean, as long as ya aren't busy today, then we can go as a group," Osaka proposed, "Maybe ta make up for last week, y'know… since everybody's gettin' along now."

"Well, I suppose that makes sense," Yomi said, somewhat surprised Osaka was making a plan herself, the shorter girl tended to just go along with everyone else's decisions, "Tomo is supposedly doing laundry at the moment. But if I can't find her, let's just say meet at the mall over by you in an hour. Does that sound alright?"

"Yup. I jus' gotta change and I'll be ready," Osaka said through a yawn.

"OK. I'll meet you at the north entrance by the ice cream shop at eleven."

"See ya then."

"See you."

llllllll

They had gotten to the mall around half past nine in the morning. Nothing was open yet. Kagura was sullenly sipping her drink that she had forced Tomo to buy for her after having to pay for the drinks they had purchased at the café the day before. She could tell Tomo was getting antsy.

"I suppose I could've finished my laundry before I came over," Tomo admitted.

"Laundry?"

"Yeah, I told Yomi I was going to do laundry. And I did. I put two loads in."

"You just left 'em sitting there? Your stuff's gonna get stolen, stupid."

"Nah. Who does laundry early morning on a Sunday?"

"Well, early, I dunno… but chances are if we sit around and wait until the stores open, you probably won't get back home until around noon at the earliest."

Tomo thought about it for a second before blowing off Kagura's concern.

"Psh. It's all good."

"And why'd you lie to Yomi?"

"Well, what am I supposed to say? 'Kagura's having girlfriend issues so we're going out to buy her a little black dress so she feels better about herself'? That's kinda hard to say without a lot of additional explanation to go along with it."

Kagura was only able to mouth 'little black dress' while appearing disturbed.

Tomo caught the other girl's expressioin before grinning, relishing in how easy it was to throw Kagura off lately. "Yup. Ya ready to show some skin?"

"Uh, no. That's not going to work. If you've forgotten, I swim. A lot. My arms aren't the most feminine looking. I think I'd look like some sort of experiment gone wrong if I were to try on a cocktail dress."

Tomo looked disappointed. "Fine, you still have to try on at least _one_ before we start looking at things with sleeves. Besides, I'd say you're more toned than bulked up looking."

"I don't understand why you get to set the rules for this," Kagura said, ignoring what she supposed was Tomo's attempt at a compliment.

"Because I'm impossibly stubborn and you know I'll win in the end."

"For now. But you know what? Payback's a bitch so you watch yourself," Kagura smiled wolfishly.

Tomo's grin widened even more before she stuck her tongue out at her companion. "Empty threats! You're full of empty threats!" she declared in a song song voice before clasping her hands together, "Like dear, wonderful, amazing _Miss Sakaki_, you wouldn't hurt a fly. All bark and no bite, Kagura."

The athletic girl just sniffed, dismissing the wildcat's proclamations.

"Whatever. Don't say I didn't warn ya. But let's go see if there's anything open yet. It's almost ten."

Tomo conceded, still smiling.

llllllll

Yomi hadn't found Tomo, once again only being able to locate her roommate's cell phone. _Why doesn't she ever take it with her? Ah, that's right, because it might make _my_ life just that much easier. We can't have that now, can we?_ Yomi shook her head, wondering why she was suddenly so irritated.

She was on her way to meet Osaka hoping the other girl would actually be on time and not deem another half an hour of sleep necessary. _She sleeps more than anyone else I know…_

As she approached the designated meeting area, she saw Osaka happily eating some ice cream. _Probably for 'breakfast'._

Yomi schooled her face into its normal unconcerned expression. As soon as Osaka saw her, the smaller girl's features brightened considerably.

"Yomi!" she said, smiling softly before lifting up her ice cream, "Would you like ta try some?"

"Ah… no, that's alright. Thank you for offering."

"Well, guess we should start lookin'. I never know what ta get Chiyo. She always sends the nicest thank yous, but it makes it hard ta tell if she actually liked the gift or not."

Yomi nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's more difficult now. I can't believe she's already sixteen."

"Yeah, our lil' Chiyo's all grown up," Osaka giggled.

Yomi smiled before sighing, "I guess it makes me feel a little old to think about it like that."

"Yup. Whoda thought we'd all still be friends like this. I mean, I never thought we wouldn't or nothin' like that, but still… jus' makes me happy, I 'spose."

That seemed to remind Yomi of something. "Speaking of friends, where's Kagura? Were you able to get ahold of her? I personally don't have a clue as to where Tomo ran off to."

"Naw, I dunno where Miss Kagura went. She's not answering her phone," Osaka said, sounding slightly upset and failing to mention that she went as far as going over to Kagura's room and knocking on the door to see if the other woman was home.

"Hmm… those two are up to something," Yomi grumbled, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Miss Kagura and Tomo?"

"Yes, they both have been acting rather strangely lately. Well, of course, I notice it more in Tomo because well, we live together. But there's been a few mysterious meetings and phone calls in the past few days… very strange."

Osaka's brow furrowed as she nodded, looking pensive.

Noticing the other girl's worried expression, Yomi hurriedly declared, "I'm sure it's nothing though. Anyway, let's go see what we can find."

llllllll

With several bags and an already weary Kagura in tow, Tomo moved on to the next store.

"This is actually pretty fun. Shopping's usually so boring, but I guess when it's someone else's money and they've gotta try on all the clothes, haha, it can be a decent time, right?"

Kagura just grunted in the negative.

"Aww, c'mon, Kagura. Don't tell me that a beast of an athlete like yourself can't keep up! And aren't you glad we got some of the _essentials_ you were in need of, too?" Tomo crooned, toting one of the bags higher than the others and shaking it suggestively.

"Aren't we _done_ yet?" Kagura groaned, failing to react to Tomo's jibe, much to the other girl's disappointment.

Tomo decided to give up on teasing for a moment and said, "Well, I figure while we're here, we could get something for Chiyo since Sakaki wants to send her something for her birthday."

With that being said, Tomo headed over to one of the larger toy stores.

Kagura just looked at her friend.

"Tomo?"

"Yeah?"

"This is supposed to be for Chiyo, right?"

"Yeah! Weren't you paying _any_ attention just a minute ago?"

"She's turning _sixteen_, Tomo! She doesn't _want_ stuffed animals."

"Well, what do you get a teenager who has all the money in the world and is smarter than all your other friends put together?"

"Uhhh…"

Before Kagura could finish that thought two voices could be heard from behind them.

"Kagura?"

"Tomo?"

Both names were uttered simultaneously and the two women who were being called slowly turned around.

"Hey guys…" Kagura said, fake grin plastered across her face.

Tomo looked down at the bags in her hands before quickly shoving them into Kagura's, the paper material crumpling loudly. Not only had they bought the woman an outfit, but a lingerie store bag also was amongst their other purchases.

Osaka looked at Kagura, worried, "Hello, Miss Kagura. Are you feelin' better today?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. A lot better, thanks," Kagura nodded, motions exaggerated due to her sudden nervousness.

Tomo could feel Yomi's gaze on her, one eyebrow quirked up in suspicion, she was sure.

"What are you two doing here?" Yomi inquired. _And, more importantly, why do you look like you've been caught red handed?_

"Buyin' Chiyo a gift. And you?" Tomo shot back, not missing a beat.

"The same. We were going to invite you two, but it appears as though you are ahead of the game… for once," Yomi noted, tone somewhat disdainful.

"Well, yeah. Anything for Chiyo," Tomo responded nonchalantly.

"Whatcha got there, Miss Kagura?" Osaka suddenly asked.

"Just some clothes. Uhh, felt it was time for a new outfit," Kagura muttered weakly, not meeting anyone's faces directly.

"Well, we're all done now. So, guess we'll see you two later," Tomo said, noticing Kagura faltering in her explanation.

Yomi and Osaka looked at each other. _Yes, definitely suspicious._

"Hmm. Later then, I suppose," Yomi replied, deciding that she would have a chat with Tomo when she got home. That is, if Tomo wasn't still with Kagura.

llllllll

"Shit, way to act like something was up!" Tomo accused the other girl.

"Well, I'm _sorry_. As if you shoving bags into my hands didn't look weird."

"Well, _excuse _me, it's not like I could've said those size bras were _mine_. Geez, how you run and swim with those things is beyond me."

Kagura, already red from anger, felt her cheeks heat up even more. "Shut up! It's not like they would've actually searched our bags or anything, you idiot!"

"You never know! And if you weren't so secretive about this whole thing to begin with, it wouldn't matter. But I felt it wasn't my place to tell Yomi, at least not without your direct approval. So now it looks like we're up to no good."

"Well… I guess I'll tell Yomi… and Ayumu," Kagura offered meekly,"ya think… maybe… that it can wait until after I talk with Sakaki though?"

"Yeah, I guess. But now I've gotta tell Yomi _something_. Well, whatever, I'll come up with a story before I see her later tonight."

"Thanks Tomo," Kagura said, relieved, "It's one thing to _say_ you're all ready to do something and then something completely different to actually… y'know… go through with it. But don't worry. By the end of this week, things'll be less of a mess… I hope."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, just keep a positive attitude. Things'll always work out in the end, 'cause if they don't… well, it's not the end," Tomo said, smiling.

"Always the optimist, eh?"

"Hell yeah. Where'd I be now if I wasn't? It's not like I'm a good athlete, like you, or get good grades like Yomi and Chiyo. And I don't float completely oblivious through life like Osaka seems to-"

"She's not oblivious," Kagura cut Tomo off.

"What?"

"Osaka. I mean, Ayumu. She's not oblivious or stupid if that's not what that means. She catches on to a lot more than we give her credit for. And you're not stupid either, despite all the times I call you an idiot. And you probably could be a half decent athlete if you learned good form and didn't waste so much energy shoutin' instead of breathing," Kagura countered.

"Well, that stuff doesn't matter to me!" Tomo clarified, "So, better to go out with a bang than just be mediocre, ya know?"

"… I guess."

"Well, pal, let's go. We've gotta practice!"

"Practice…?" Kagura asked, surprised and a bit worried.

"You've gotta come up with what you're going to say and you've gotta try on the whole ensemble altogether."

Kagura reluctantly followed the energetic wildcat, not for the first time wondering what mess she'd gotten herself into.

Author's Notes: They've all endeared themselves to me, I think. But that's just how Azumanga Daioh works. Too bad I can't really include Yukari and Nyamo… I suppose I could, but it might just break my brain. Including all these other characters is already too complicated for me to keep track of the interactions.: p Though much love for the crazy teachers. Maybe one day I can write something about them… there's already quite a few good fics exploring their relationship. I dunno if I'd be able to do the two justice.: )

And as always, thank ya very much for the reviews. I do appreciate them. Special thanks to the repeat reviewers. I'll admit it. I tend to be kinda lazy when it comes to reviews for separate chapters. But you've all been great.: )

Oh, and apologies for any discrepancies in the timeline. Due to my complete lack of planning, there are possible questionable parts though I do have rationalizations for most of them so it, at the very least, works out in my head.

I don't know if anything constitutes for love triangles quite yet since most of what's going on is the girls reminiscing and their current thoughts generally aren't progressing beyond a point (relationship triangles, maybe? eheh…)… with only hints here and there. Though I try to throw in bits of fun.

Ah, and I feel as though I should put some tacky announcement for the next chapter (or at least, have fun making one): Is Tomo setting herself up for disappointment? What will happen when Sakaki finally makes her appearance? Will poor Osaka get a decent scene written about her that doesn't include sleeping?

Next chapter and I think I'm actually serious this time… might be a couple weeks in coming. Or, at the very least, there won't be these updates every two to four days. I've got a lot of other stuff to focus on, not to mention all my other little pet projects that I've neglected for the past two weeks. Currently resisting the urge to look into Mai Hime/My Hime… no time… no money… X.x; There's also Kiddy Grade and R.O.D. TV… bah… ah well, lots of reading and writing to keep me busy. (and Pani Poni Dash! is coming out on DVD… yay! Serizawa!)


	7. Chapter 7

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters; Kiyohiko Azuma created them. I'm sure other people own rights and whatnot, too.

Rated T for swearing (Please excuse Tomo. If such language continues, Yomi will make sure Tomo washes her mouth out with soap.), alcohol references, and shoujo-ai. Hooyah!

Hardly anything of consequence happens in this chapter.: ) It's sort of working toward a thing or two. Woo. Though next chapter will probably have something and the chapter after that almost for sure stuff goes on (and that's where Sakaki's arrival is tentatively scheduled for… chapter 9). Many apologies from your bum of an author.: B

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

**Chapter 7**

She had been in her room reading when she heard the front door open. And then suddenly slam shut, the walls of their small apartment shuddering around her.

Then there was silence.

After a moment of waiting, she exhaled slowly and placed the book down on the nightstand next to her bed. Cautiously walking out of her room she saw her roommate eating what looked like the leftover popcorn from the night before. She was sitting down on the couch, staring at the blank screen of the television set. Yomi took a seat next to her friend, expression impassive just as Tomo's was unreadable.

"That popcorn's stale, isn't it?" she remarked, adjusting her reading glasses.

Tomo slowly turned to look at her companion, eyes suddenly shimmering with unshed tears.

"Yoo-ooomiiii" she wailed, pawing at the taller girl's shoulder, "Kagura was riiiight."

Yomi grimaced, "…what was Kagura right about?"

The wildcat abruptly stood up, fuming in rage as she tossed one of the couch pillows to the ground.

"Those fucking fuckers fucking stole my fucking laundry!" she shouted.

"I'm… sorry?" Yomi said, deciding that as long as the other woman didn't get too out of hand, it would be better to just let the tantrum run its course than attempt to restrain her.

Tomo gave a groan of frustration as she sunk down to her knees.

Yomi kept any sort of snide remark she could've made in the situation to herself. It wouldn't give her all that much satisfaction to figuratively kick Tomo when she was down to begin with and might actually do some damage to the generally untouchable optimism of her roommate.

She took a seat on the floor next to Tomo, the smaller woman sniffling loudly. Fully expecting another angry outburst, she was caught off guard by her friend's next comment.

"Y'know… I miss it when you wear your glasses," she admitted soberly.

Confused, Yomi removed her reading glasses. She had gotten contacts about two years ago and rarely wore the pair of glasses she still owned.

"Are you alright?" Yomi asked, still perplexed.

"Yeah," Tomo shrugged, "It's just _clothes_. Still, who the hell wants someone else's clothes?"

"Yes, it's not like your wardrobe is the classiest-"

Tomo took advantage of the fact that Yomi had removed her glasses and hit her in the face with the couch pillow that she had slammed down onto the ground during her fit.

Continuing as if nothing had happened, Tomo complained, "But damn it… that means I've gotta go shopping _again_. I mean, it was fine when it was just with Kagura 'cause _I_ wasn't tryin' anything on."

"Speaking of that… what exactly are you two up to?" Yomi's eyes narrowed slightly as her expression hardened, "I'm not bailing you both out of a mess. Not this time."

Tomo grinned knowingly, pressing a pointer finger into Yomi's nose, the other woman looking annoyed at the contact.

"That's what you _always_ say."

The taller girl looked away, crossing her arms as she huffed in indignation.

"I'm just explaining that I don't want any drunk phone calls at two in the morning with some asinine complaint like 'I lost my shoe and don't know where I am' or 'the party got busted and I don't have enough money for a taxi' or-" Yomi snapped, starting to get red in the face.

"Hey now. To be fair, I paid you back for the taxi and-"

"No, _you_ listen. If you are going to fool around with Kagura, you two better be able to take care of yourselves."

"Fool around? Uhh," Tomo's mind went straight to the gutter at Yomi's unwittingly poor word choice, but she was able to recover quickly, "No, no. It's not _like_ that. She just wanted help with something and is kinda… self-conscious… y'know, like you were saying the other day about how sensitive she is, right?"

"Yes… I vaguely remember this."

Encouraged by Yomi's change of heart, Tomo continued, "Yeah, so it's like this. As a fellow Bonkura I cannot betray my friend Kagura's trust when it comes to such personal matters and shall hold said secret to the grave even if it requires that I willingly put myself in danger."

Yomi looked unimpressed. "I didn't realize Bonkura became a title dictated by such high ideals…"

"Well, _yeah_. But anyway, I just know you are _dying_ to go to the mall again with me and get some new jeans. Maybe something nice to wear this weekend since we're going out, right?" the shorter of the two smiled at her roommate hopefully.

Yomi wanted to tell her no, that she had plenty of other things to do. She couldn't help but be amazed though at Tomo's resilience. A few moments ago the girl had been cursing and crying and now here she was teasing again. _Resilience...? Or mental imbalance?_ Either way, it was genuine, unadulterated Tomo.

"Heh, and at least those bastards had to pay to dry the clothes. I left 'em in the wash this morning," she chuckled to herself.

Yomi looked over at her friend. "Fine… let's go."

"Eh?"

"I said, 'Let's go'. I've got much better things to do than babysit a twenty year old, but if you really want me to go then let's go," Yomi barked before questioning in a much calmer tone, "You don't think this can wait until later this week?"

"I know if it's later in the week you'll come up with some lame excuse like," Tomo paused to snatch up the other woman's glasses from the coffee table before placing them on her face and continuing," 'I've got a midterm tomorrow' or 'I've gotta go to work' or 'I'm in the middle of class so stop sending me text messages'," she said mimicking Yomi's tone from earlier.

"… you sure you wanna do that?"

"Do what?" Tomo mocked, adjusting the glasses the same way Yomi always did, before leaning in.

"_That_," the taller girl glared, standing her ground.

Unexpectedly, Tomo bent forward even further, her cheek brushing against Yomi's as she whispered into the other woman's ear, "Whatcha gonna do about it?"

Yomi sat stunned for a moment, various possibilities hazily forming themselves in her mind before autopilot took over.

"Double chop!"

"urk"

Yomi stood over Tomo's prone form, breathing shallow. Regaining her composure, she stooped and removed her glasses, neatly folding them. Tomo rolled over to look up at Yomi's face, slightly dazed.

"Looks like I've still got it," Tomo murmured lazily, still grinning.

"Hmph."

"I know how to get your goat, Miss Mizuhara. How to push your buttons. Get a rise out of you. To get under your skin. You've gotten better at keeping your cool, but annoying you is what I _do_. And I've gotten rather good at it. Keepin' you on your toes, y'know? Variety is the spice of life and all that," Tomo declared, ending by blowing a raspberry up at her friend.

Yomi responded by stepping onto Tomo's stomach on her way to the door. After putting on her coat, she turned to glower at her roommate who had just gotten the wind knocked out of her.

"You better watch it or we're going to end up doing karaoke Friday night. And _I'll_ sing first."

Tomo coughed a bit before wheezing, "OK! OK! I'll behave! Anything but _that_!"

"Honestly, my singing can't be that bad," Yomi muttered.

"Oh _yes_ it _can_!" Tomo jumped up.

"Hmm… really now? Maybe I should start singing in the shower again."

"Wha? But we _agreed_!" the shorter of the two cried, putting on her coat and shoes in the process.

The discussion continued in the hall as they shut the door behind them.

llllllll

It was Monday morning when Osaka received the phone call alerting her that Kagura would be by in fifteen minutes to walk to the building where they had their English class together.

She was happy she had showered the night before. All she had to do was find something to wear and get her books together. She had slept through class last week, but she doubted she had missed much. She didn't really talk to anyone in that class besides Kagura and had forgot to ask the other girl if she had gone. Most of the assignments were posted online but she hadn't gone to the computer lab to check. Donning a salmon and cream-colored striped sweater she moved around the pile of miscellaneous papers and objects on her desk until she located a pair of beige gloves that matched her jacket.

It had been nice to go shopping with just Yomi yesterday. The taller woman tended to be thrown off by her peculiar way of looking at the world. For Osaka, it was somewhat entertaining to be able to confuse her generally astute friend. People like Yomi tended to be set in their ways. She didn't want to accuse her friend of being close-minded, but she could tell she accepted differences with difficulty, at least on the outside. Which made it all the more remarkable for her to have been able to tolerate Tomo for this long. _They both gotta sadistic sense of humor though._ Osaka still remembered Yomi's cruel joke involving the spicy croquette. Tomo's attacks however, tended to involve very little premeditation. _They'd make an interestin' crime duo. Yomi comin' up with all the schemes and Tomo bein' foolhardy enough ta go through with 'em. Yup. _

Her mind began creating an elaborate fabrication of a future where Yomi and Tomo became burglars and stole the Mona Lisa from that museum in Italy… or was it France? Requiring Tomo to do an intricate dance through red security beams, but once they escaped they lived happily ever after on an island (with a volcano) they bought with the money they had stored in a Swiss bank account. Billions of American dollars they got from selling the painting on the black market. _Sippin' strawberry daiquiris 'n margaritas on the beach. I would hope they'd invite me ta visit._

She was shaken from her reverie when she realized what time it was. Kagura probably had been waiting for her downstairs for at least five minutes now. She tossed on the rest of her outfit before grabbing her backpack and (slowly) running downstairs.

Kagura was leaning on one of the walls by the exit when she saw her.

"Hey," Kagura offered as a greeting.

"Hey," Osaka replied sleepily before loosely embracing her friend, not really thinking about it. She had hugged Kagura the just a couple of days ago and the other woman had seemed fine with it.

Kagura's eyes widened briefly before calming. _This again? Well, it's ok, I guess… after all, it's just Osaka._

"Umm… you wanna go now? I'm guessing we both didn't make it last week so we might as well try to be on time today…" Kagura trailed off.

"Good idea, Miss Kagura. Oh, and are ya goin' ta lunch after class?"

"Yeah, sure. If there's somethin' I didn't finish for my other class today, it's not going to get done during my lunch break," Kagura replied, her voice having that slightly gruff edge that made Osaka smile. Just by looking at Kagura and hearing her, no one would be able to tell what a big softie she really was. When not in her athletic attire, she was still always dressed casually. It was interesting to see what people wore now that they didn't have to dress in uniforms for school. Of course, during high school, they'd still wear their own choice of clothing when they got together on the weekends, but this everyday choice of dress gave a brief peek into everyone's personalities. By far, Yomi tended to be the most formal dresser. Tomo probably the most laid back. You could tell when it got close to laundry time because the wildcat would suddenly give off the impression that she had become colorblind, having absolutely no qualms whatsoever of wearing the most "horrid combinations", as Yomi had called them. Tomo had quickly shot back that green was green was green whether it was lime green or olive and that any decent person understood that.

Kagura tended to be more down to earth. Not wearing anything quite as heinous as Tomo would try to pull of, but generally not dressing in anything that could be labeled as "chic" either. Her athletic friend appeared to view comfort as being important when it came to clothing. The woman herself had been chattering away after they had left her building and Osaka felt suddenly guilty realizing she had zoned out again.

"Head in the clouds again?" Kagura cheerfully joked, having noticed the inattentive gaze of her companion.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry 'bout that, Miss Kagura," Osaka admitted, a bit sheepishly.

"'Sok. Some things never change, I guess. And I'm fine with you the way you are," the athletic girl grinned at her friend.

Osaka smiled in return.

Kagura had known Osaka hadn't been paying attention for the past several minutes. It was one of her quirks. Sometimes she'd abruptly leave for La La Land only to return with some bizarre comment that rarely had anything to do with the current topic of conversation. Several times she'd, out of curiosity, asked her friend to explain her thought process. It had cleared up some of the mystery of the Osakan… sort of. The petite girl had a knack for trivia and word games. It was a wonder she hadn't done better in English class, though her napping habits probably had something to do with that. In some ways she was like a little kid. Easily distracted and able to find wonder in the simplest of things. Where everyone else was caught up in the daily grind, Osaka tended to be off in her own world of sometimes surprisingly serious contemplation, though many of her ideas were way off base… or perhaps poorly worded as Osaka herself rarely offered explanations.

After prodding her friend out of whatever daydream she was having Kagura was suddenly quiet. Deciding not to repeat any of the idle chitchat she had mentioned earlier, she didn't really have much she felt like relating that was going on in her life at the moment. Which at the same time made Kagura feel uncomfortably guilty. Her general approach to things was to be sincere and now there was the figurative "elephant in the room" looming over the conversation. Not that Osaka was aware, but soon enough she probably would be.

"Taboo my ass…" Kagura grumbled under her breath.

"Hmm?" Osaka murmured, looking over at her companion, "What was that?"

"Uh, nothin'. I just got a lot on my mind."

"Care ta share? Might jus' make ya feel better," Osaka asked.

"Well, maybe later. Looks like we're here."

"Oh. I didn't even notice we were gettin' close ta the building," Osaka said, her tone one of mild surprise.

The two walked inside, soon coming upon their classroom. Osaka set her things down next to Kagura, draping her coat over her chair. She could hear the conspiring whispers of the group of younger students who had already arrived. Most mornings, but especially on Mondays they'd place bets to see how long "Narcoleptic Girl" would stay awake. Kagura would've told them off herself, but Osaka had said that she thought it was "kinda funny" and had even encouraged Kagura to lay her own wager. Kagura did no such thing, but it was one of the first hints that Osaka had woken up a bit over the years and a testament to just how affable the slightly spacey woman was.

Shortly after they had taken their seats, class began. Kagura attempting to pay attention. Osaka attempting to stay awake. _Why's this class gotta be so _early

Author's Notes: And now you know why I've yet to refer to Yomi as the "bespectacled girl" or something like that. Not all that important a detail, but I'd been planning on writing something including that since like… Chapter 1.

And getting your laundry stolen isn't all that improbable…: ( Maybe in Japan, but ah well…

Sorry if this is getting rather monotonous. Things'll be switched up a bit next chapter or so. I feel like every chapter is just transition… well, at least every two out of three chapters or so is transition. Ah well, the ladies aren't exactly magical girls… they don't pilot mecha… they aren't hitwomen… or thieves (no matter the conclusions Osaka's daydreaming comes to). And as I think the first chapter stated, there are things I didn't want to use as plot devices. I realize this thing has other issues… like how can an entire group of friends be lesbians? That's what I'm allowing myself. I know it's completely unlikely. It's contrived. But I'm not doing OC's… yet I still wanna include most of them and not leave everyone except two alone at the end. And at the same time, I'm going to try not to rush things… though you can tell when the plot actually moves forward I myself have gotten annoyed with the lack of progression. I also wanted to focus more on the relationships themselves, just friends or something more… though I'll get to fluffier parts.: p I will… one day. But I felt that out of the four this story has tended to focus on, Osaka has sort of been given the short stick, so I tried to incorporate her more in this chapter. I honestly have a rough time with her. X.x I want to still keep her random to a degree, but at the same time she's actually more with it (versus just _thinking_ about getting it together).

Oh, and I tried to reply to reviews, but anything I replied to while I was home… I dunno if it actually went through. Our 'net connection sucks. Well, when I try to use the wireless it sucks. I'm very sorry if you didn't receive my reply. Thank you to those that reviewed and faved the story and put it on their alert lists.: )

Good grief these author's notes are long. The fact that I feel like I must justify things this much must mean I've screwed up multiple places.: ) Ah well, still, I don't think it's that horrible for a first fic, no?


	8. Chapter 8

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. And I can't think of anything really witty to say about that.

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and shoujo-ai.

Another only semi-eventful chapter. Maybe the calm before the storm? Though I doubt this will get too tempestuous.: p

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

**Chapter 8**

It had snowed sometime during the night and the temperature had dropped even further. Tomo had eagerly insisted they go outside to play, but she had shot down that idea before her boisterous companion could finish the sentence. Such extreme temperatures made her unaccountably irritable and as she sat on the couch wearing extra layers and wrapped in a blanket, Tomo's cheery demeanor only compounded her frustration. _I think I'm starting to get a cold_. Tomo, however, never was properly dressed for the weather yet appeared to be functioning at full capacity.

"You know what your problem is, Yomi? You've lost the vitality of youth," the shorter girl lectured, pacing in front of the coffee table, "Before you know it your hair's going to start going _gray_, and all the other people in your classes are going to be like 'Whoa! Who's that spinster over there?!' And you're going to have to get _bifocals_. And people are going to start offering to walk you across the street. I can just see it! By next Christmas people will be giving you shawls as presents and you'll be drinking _prune juice_!"

Yomi managed to roll her eyes before sneezing.

"Eh?" Tomo halted mid-speech, "You sick again? This seems to happen every year. Always at the worst times, too. You _can't_ be sick this weekend."

"No, I think maybe just a little cold. I'll be fine… As long as I'm not stupid and don't decide to run around outside in the snow," Yomi stated, sniffing.

"Oh Yomi. Erring on the side of caution, yet where does that get you? Have I taught you nothing over the past uhh… how many years _has _it been?"

"Well, we've known each other since elementary school. So approximately fifteen years, if you round up a bit," the brunette stated calmly.

Tomo sat down next to her friend, "Whew… that's pretty _awesome_, isn't it? Funny, huh? I've always thought about it as a long time, but I've known you for over half my life."

"Mmm hmm."

The wildcat had been hoping for a slightly more enthusiastic response than that and decided to prod her roommate for one. "Hey, you ever think about like… what will happen ten years from now?"

Yomi looked over at Tomo curiously.

"Since when do you think ahead?" Yomi said before the corners of her mouth turned up in a grin, amused at her own little quip.

"No, really. We'll still be friends, right?"

"I suppose, unforeseen circumstances aside, we'll still be friends."

Tomo frowned. _Stupid non-committal answers. Would it kill her to open up a bit? _

Yomi noticed the actually annoyed reaction of her friend. Slightly surprised, she attempted to fix the situation.

"Of course, I can hardly imagine what you'd do on your own," _Wait… that probably doesn't help_, "I mean, without someone… to help. And I couldn't just leave you like that," Yomi finished hastily, eyes averted.

"Oh, it's nice to know cranky Yomi _cares_!" Tomo exclaimed before tossing herself at the taller woman who gave a cry of protest as she was knocked over.

It was now Yomi's turn once again to be irritated. _I should have seen that one coming_.

Tomo was now embracing her as her face was smashed somewhat uncomfortably against an armrest. She was thankful that she was didn't currently have her glasses on, which she at times would use in the morning out of convenience. They had actually just recently woken up and had classes to go to. She heard Tomo sigh and realized that they had been in this rather awkward position for several moments now.

"Tomo?" she questioned.

"Mmm?" the other woman murmured softly.

She wasn't sure whether to use a sharp command or question her companion who was being oddly quiet. Before she could decide Tomo spoke again.

"You really are comfy," she said through a contented smile, snuggling into the blanket that Yomi still had wrapped around her. Stunned by the connotation of the phrase but more importantly the gentle way in which it was spoken, she thought back to the other night when Tomo's cheek smoothly brushed her own. Tomo teased, but never quite this way and after knowing the energetic wildcat for as long as she did, changes like this were easily perceived, especially in a person who made a living out of being a pest. She would shamelessly poke, push, and tackle but though they were good friends, these quiet moments were rare. The few times Tomo wasn't arrogantly running her mouth, she was generally either upset or unconscious. Though more often than not, she dealt with frustration just as loudly as she did joy. They could read each other well by this point and it was almost maddening to actually be confused. She knew exactly what brand of annoyances to expect from the wildcat just as Tomo knew how far she could go before getting too out of line and doing something unforgivable.

Tomo vaguely wondered if she was pushing her luck. Just as doubt began bubbling to the surface of her mind, she thought up a plan. It followed her general practice and she was not at all disappointed in both what would be its forthright execution and simplicity. The plan was: there was no plan. It seemed almost ludicrous that she was worried about it several days ago. Closing her eyes in satisfaction at the conclusion she had come to she felt Yomi begin wriggling free from the embrace.

Her mind had gone blank and it was the uncomfortable position her neck was angled at that had brought her back. She removed herself from Tomo's grip pushing herself up off the couch. Warily looking at her roommate she saw that Tomo's content expression had changed to a smug one. The overconfident attitude that had returned to her companion's features was almost a reassurance to Yomi who was still thrown off by the short moment of calm tenderness exhibited earlier.

Tomo's eyes fluttered open before she looked up at her friend to see how she had responded to the attention, for a moment insides clenching in dread. And then she laughed. Yomi looked equally preoccupied as Tomo had before the smaller woman's outburst, but she swiftly became perplexed and then put out. _I can't keep up… she's nearly impossible._

The wildcat's riotous guffaws had reduced themselves to barely contained giggles.

"hee… Yomi haha… go look in the mirror," Tomo managed to say, punctuating her sentence with a snort.

Yomi removed herself from the couch and walked the short distance to the bathroom, peering at the mirror through the open door. The half of her face that had been pressed into the arm of the couch now had a puffy red striped pattern.

"Your face… hee hee… it was just so _serious_ but ha I couldn't help it… you looked like you'd been smacked upside the head with a tennis racket or somethin'."

Yomi decided to put on her best "I-am-not-amused" look. Tomo smiled back, innocently before falling to the side and laughing again.

"Sometimes… I don't know what I'm going to do with you," Yomi spoke over the giggles. Tomo stopped laughing, looking up at her friend, head resting on the couch. She appeared to be contemplating an answer and Yomi steeled herself for another jibe.

"Whatever you want, Yomi. I'm all yours," Tomo grinned, winking before flipping onto her back and staring at the ceiling.

The comments had sounded disturbingly honest to a baffled Yomi, in spite of the playful expression Tomo wore when she had said them.

"I'm… not quite sure what you mean, but if you're playing some new game I don't want any part of it."

"Naw, I'm not tryin' to mess with ya. And I guess… it means whatever you want it to, babe," Tomo replied, no less enigmatically than before, eyes still focused on the ceiling so Yomi couldn't even use that as a clue.

The unknown was dangerous territory. If Tomo wasn't going to say anything else to explain herself, she would almost prefer to think it never happened. She really didn't have time to deal with Tomo being in a strange mood today.

"Well, I have to get ready," Yomi said, surprised that her voice came out almost as soft as a whisper. She retreated to her room, leaving Tomo on the couch.

The shorter girl placed her hands behind her head, calmly regarding the white paint on the walls. Not in the least bit discouraged, she decided she'd, for the moment, let things happen, allowing herself to cut back some of the restraints, but still keep Yomi's best interests at heart. She was going to let Yomi figure out what she had meant, but nudging her to the right conclusion couldn't hurt.

llllllll

Kagura was once again considering her current situation.

The fact that Tomo seemed to care so much was almost… _almost_ endearing. Her motivation, of course, was questionable. The wildcat could just as easily be looking for some intrigue and if that meant helping out a friend, then all the better. _She's crazy, but she's better than that… I think._

Regrettably they hadn't really discussed much about what was going to happen this upcoming weekend when Tomo had accompanied her from the mall the other day. She had been embarrassed at the time, especially after the somewhat traumatic shopping experience and had distracted Tomo by suggesting they play some video games. She had her old console from home that she had brought just for kicks this semester. Not that she had a lot of time to play.

Then there was the other problem of what to say to the others. Tomo obviously didn't care and she did at least feel that the wildcat would back her up if it came to a confrontation. It was extremely irritating. Normally this wouldn't be anybody's business but her own… really though, she did at least owe an explanation to Osaka. She knew she had worried the other girl this past week and didn't want her to misinterpret her mood and think that she was upset by anything the dreamer had done.

They had gotten lunch together yesterday and Kagura had successfully ignored the majority of her companion's conversation, inconsiderately caught up in her own worries. The Osaka from four years ago or so probably wouldn't have noticed, but she had changed just as they all had. Remembering the concerned look on the girl's face as she asked if she had said something wrong made Kagura realize her selfishness. The rest of the meal had been finished in silence and Osaka had politely turned down Kagura's offer to walk back to her dorm saying she had to take care of things elsewhere.

_Shit. _

She'd prefer not to burn _all_ her bridges in the matter of a year so at the moment she was paying her friend an unexpected visit. She knew Osaka had about two hours off before her next class and was most likely sleeping half of that time away or finishing up homework. It was probably better to get it over with before things got worse and she would've explained things to her even at lunch yesterday, resolve melting at the saddened expression the normally cheerfully oblivious woman gave her, but the crowded cafeteria managed to put her even more on edge.

Bracing herself she knocked several times. Predictably there was a crashing noise followed by the sound of a smaller object falling and hitting the ground, then a groan of dismay. The door swung open after a few moments and she was greeted with the customary sight of a sleep tousled Osaka.

Osaka looked blankly at her for a moment before her eyes widened in surprise.

"Ka-kagura! I-what are ya doin' here? I mean. It's good ta see ya," she babbled, speaking slightly faster than normal.

"Hey, Ayumu," Kagura said fondly, "I uhh… well, is it ok if I come in?" she asked looking down the hallway.

"Yeah. 'Course ya can Miss Kagura."

Osaka moved to the side, motioning her friend in and telling her to take a seat, still rather taken aback at the unannounced visit, especially considering how… distracted Kagura had been. _Maybe whatever's botherin' her's over now._ Looking over at Kagura quickly refuted that notion, as the other women appeared rather nervous.

"Ah, well… first, Ayumu, I wanted to say I'm sorry. I was kinda a jerk these past couple of days. And I know you've asked, but I didn't really know what to say, y'know?"

Osaka nodded to show she was indeed listening intently.

"Uhh… anyway, I wanted to kinda… tell you what's up. But I don't really know what you'll think." She looked over at her friend for some assurance. Osaka's childlike brown eyes were warm and welcoming her to continue.

Kagura fumbled with the words a bit longer before her mouth moved of its own volition. Three simple words forming a phrase that wasn't half as refined an explanation as the one Kagura had thought up on the trip over.

"I like girls."

_Good grief! Is that the best I could come up with?! She probably either thinks it sounds juvenile or that I'm like that creeper Kimura!_

Resisting the urge to smack her forehead she slowly looked over at her friend, hoping she would still be able to use that term to refer to her after this conversation was over. Explaining this, she realized, was still nerve racking. Almost like taking a test without knowing what the content is ahead of time.

Osaka had cocked her head slightly to the side in thought before looking at Kagura expectantly.

"Uhh… so…" she started slowly before she began babbling in desperation,"I understand if you think that's uhh weird and don't wanna hang out anymore, but I just didn't know what to say and it wasn't fair that you didn't know what was bugging me. It wasn't anything you did and really I never thought about you in any sort of nasty way and don't want you to think that especially if you are grossed out by stuff like that-"

To her side Osaka had started giggling.

"Eh?" Kagura looked at her companion incredulously.

Osaka sobered quickly, "I'm sorry, Miss Kagura. I jus'… is that it?"

"Is that _it_?" Kagura repeated.

"Well, yeah… I guess, I thought somebody had _died_ the way ya'd been talkin' lately."

"What? R-really?" Kagura stuttered, not realizing just how melancholy she had gotten at times.

"So, did ya just figure this out?" Osaka asked curiously.

"Uhh… no, not really. Just some stuff has happened lately that's err made me think about it more. And Tomo found out… kinda spilled my guts to her the one night we made up."

Osaka thought back to the time she saw Kagura and Tomo at the mall together just a few days ago. _Kiss 'n make up?_, Osaka thought to herself, interested in the details.

"So… are you two…?"

"What?" quickly picking up on the insinuation after having a similar discussion with Tomo, "No… no _way_. 'Sides, she's got her heart set on Yomi." _Ooops… _

"Really?"

"Aw damn. Umm… could you… uhh not tell her I told you that? I mean, she's been pretty hush-hush about the stuff I told her… at least, I think she has, but she definitely never said anything about me being able to tell anyone about her," Kagura pleaded, her eyes just as expressive as her voice.

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Osaka solemnly promised, drawing an "x" over her heart.

"Whoa… I haven't heard that in like… forever. Makes me think of elementary school."

Osaka smiled softly in response before continuing with her inquiries.

"So, did ya wanna talk about it? I can't imagine Tomo bein' the best listener."

"Yeah, you're right there. I mean, it's actually been kinda sweet, considering it's Tomo, how she's been tryin' to help me out and stuff. But uhh… well, I dunno, there's not much to talk about… I could tell you everything, but… maybe after Sakaki gets here… I feel bad about telling some stuff to Tomo."

"Sakaki?" Osaka intoned.

"Umm… yeah, it's not well, like _that_ with her." _At least, not yet…_ "But stuff happened at my other school and she was there for part of it and I dunno if she'd want me to just be telling everybody."

"That's ok. I understand. But if you feel like ya need a person ta listen, I'll be happy ta do that for ya."

"Thanks, Ayumu. You don't know how much this means," Kagura said appreciatively, feeling herself getting choked up but out of relief instead of the anticipated disappointment. She made a move to embrace her friend before stopping and thinking better of it, mood suddenly plummeting. Osaka caught the initial action and instead of giving Kagura verbal permission, she hugged her of her own accord.

"It's ok, Kagura," Osaka quietly murmured into the other woman's shoulder as Kagura sucked in a breath, surprised at her friend's actions. After a moment, Kagura felt her move her head slightly so it was resting on her shoulder. She felt excited flutterings in her stomach at the closeness of her the other woman, but fiercely tried to clamp down on those feelings.

"I guess the way I look at it. I'm not a fish or a bird or a slug or a raccoon dog or anythin' like that. I'm a person. So we got free will as people and higher reasonin' an' stuff like that. So as long as the other person feels the same way, it's ok. Ya should be able ta like who ya want ta 'cause well, it's not jus' instinct, y'know?"

"Yeah,"Kagura breathed quietly, not necessarily understanding exactly what the other woman was saying, but having a good idea and grateful for the comfort nonetheless, "Thanks, Ayumu… I'm glad we're friends. You're real good at makin' a gal feel better, you know that?"

llllllll

Tomo surveyed her handiwork. It was later that night and Yomi would hopefully be returning shortly. Keeping with tradition, she, on a whim, decided to do something. She had taken it upon herself to prepare dinner, but according to kitchen rules, her options were limited. She had considered just going out and buying something nice, but a quick peek into her wallet revealed only a lonely five-yen coin.

In the end she had decided to go with sandwiches. Simple yet they did the job and maybe Yomi would notice how thoughtful she had been. _Sandwiches are something one can easily eat while studying_, she thought to herself proudly.

Hearing the door open she barely was able to contain her excitement as she pranced over to give her roommate a tackle hug.

"Yomi! Yomi!" she called.

Yomi had hardly stepped in the front door when she saw Tomo approaching, large grin plastered across her face, eyes dancing merrily. She noticed the other girl wind up for the leap all too late.

"Yoomiiii!" Tomo gleefully cried, diving at her roommate.

The taller woman's eyes widened in a pitiable manner before Tomo's arms connected with her midsection.

"Tomo! I just saw you this morning. Get off!" she snapped, not in the mood after a day of classes and then work, not to mention her cold seemed to be getting worse.

"Come on," Tomo exclaimed, practically bouncing as she dragged her friend by the arm to the kitchen, Yomi objecting the entire way.

As they made their way into the room, Tomo gestured grandly to the table that had a plate of sandwiches and… a box of cereal and bag of chips?

"Well… this is… a surprise," Yomi stated, taking the whole scene in.

"Yeah, I made dinner! So you just sit down and I'll get you some water… with ice!" she stated as an afterthought.

Yomi took a seat, looking at the meal suspiciously. It _seemed_ alright… the presentation was rather infantile, but she could tell Tomo had tried… for whatever reason.

"Did you break something?"

"What?" Tomo turned, and Yomi noticed for the first time that the other woman was wearing the white and blue-checkered apron, a row of apples happily displayed across the front.

"This?" she questioned, gesturing to the platter piled high with sandwiches, "What's this for? Did you break something?"

Tomo's brow furrowed as her lower lip jutted out at the unfairness of the accusation.

"No! I just wanted to do something nice for Yomi and this is what I get?" she exclaimed, getting increasingly dramatic by the end of the statement.

"Sorry… this is… very… well, not you," Yomi explained.

"Uh… really?"

"Well, yeah, for one, after you set the microwave on fire because you didn't realize you couldn't put aluminum foil in it… well, you obviously didn't have to do this stuff growing up. And we're not going to get into how you thought bleach could be used for _everything_. Well, not to mention you avoid doing anything you don't _like_ doing."

"True true. But I lived at your house half the time anyway," Tomo cheerfully exclaimed, "or we were at school or my mom took care of it. And hey, I get my homework done now… mostly. And I can't copy off you anymore! And I still don't really _like_ doing it!"

"Well, either way, I guess it's nice to see you putting forth some effort… and thank you for the sandwiches," Yomi conceded, delicately picking up a sandwich half.

"Yeah, and I didn't know which way you liked 'em cut, so there are squares and triangles and rectangles."

Yomi gave her friend a puzzled look. "Yes… I… noticed… but do you think we're going to eat all this? You must have made like seven sandwiches."

"Uhh… guess I got carried away," Tomo admitted, somewhat sheepishly.

The brunette chuckled to herself at her companion's expression, "Well, at least _that's_ nothing new."

Tomo looked at her friend, happy to see her happy. Yomi removed her coat, not having time to take care of that at the door, and hung it on the back of the chair. She was wearing a burgundy turtleneck with an up and down ribbed pattern. Tomo remembered her saying something about how vertical stripes had a slimming effect. She wrinkled her nose a bit at the thought. _Still worried about stuff like that… you look great no matter what, Yomi. But I bet you wouldn't believe me if I told you. _

Yomi began eating, in truth glad she didn't have to take care of making dinner that night. She was still curious as to Tomo's motivations, but it was probably something silly like watching the cooking channel on T.V. It was kind of cute how she'd set the table and arranged everything. It looked like she had even cleaned up the kitchen a bit. _I could get used to this_. It was then that she noticed Tomo had been watching her.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"Wha?" she asked stupidly, having been jarred from her thoughts.

"I asked you if you were going to sit down and eat?"

"Uh, yeah. 'Course," Tomo said, slightly flushed, "I just wanted to make sure you got all the stuff you wanted y'know, since you're the big eater here," she finished laughing, though it seemed somewhat forced.

"… don't ruin it," Yomi warned.

_Stuuupid stuuuupiiiid_, Tomo's inner voice mocked, using one of her favorite chants generally reserved for others. She picked up one of sandwich rectangles, idly nibbling on a side. Things were awkwardly silent for a few moments, which made Tomo jumpy. She would have happily broken the tranquility of the moment, but for some reason she couldn't really think of much to say. _So, Yomi, Kagura's totally fallen for Sakaki… _She began laughing to herself. _Man, that'd be some pretty friggin' hilarious 'casual dinner conversation'._

Yomi caught Tomo snickering rather sinisterly to herself across the table.

"Anything you'd like to share…?" Yomi inquired coolly.

Tomo immediately froze, sandwich suspended halfway between her plate and mouth.

"Ah, no," she said, reverting back to the look of the cat that swallowed the canary, "Just thinkin' about something… funny… that happened the other day. But what's up for this weekend?" Not_ karaoke._

"Well, I figure I will let Sakaki have my room, since it's not as though we have a guest room here and I would feel bad about leaving her to sleep on the couch. And your room is out of the question. You have yet to even put away all those clothes you bought the other night. You can't even see the floor in there…"

"Yeah, well, that's beside the point. What I meant was, what are we going to _do_?"

"Oh, I thought we'd ask Sakaki when she gets here. We could go to a show or out to eat."

"Let's go ice skating," Tomo declared, "Y'know how there's that rink outside by the one park. I'm sure it's still open."

"I guess we could do that… I've never really been," Yomi said thoughtfully.

"What?! No way! Then we've gotta go!" Tomo exclaimed before she tossed the last bit of her sandwich in her mouth, "I'm going to make an itinerary!" She picked up her plate and tossed it in the sink causing Yomi to wince at the loud clatter it made.

Tomo was certainly a take charge individual, but perhaps it wasn't a good idea to let her be the _in_ charge person. _Well, maybe it will keep her occupied for a while; I'm sure by Friday she'll be over the idea._

Author's Notes: Before writing this I reread several of the other chapters and tweaked a few little things here and there (nothing to change the "plot"). Wow. Haha There were a couple of running gags I'd forgotten about.

This one's another one that's rather uneventful… next chapter hopefully Sakaki finally comes. I've already written stuff for what might be either chapter 10 or 11.

Then there's Kagura. This fic is everyone and their motherxKagura. _Hon_estly.9.9;

This chapter originally included Tomo (accidentally, yet still completely due to her carelessness) setting off the fire alarm while Kagura was taking a shower. Osaka was supposed to be around, too. Very little plotwise would've happened in that scene… maybe a talk between Kagura and Tomo… ah well. I thought it was a bit over the top. Though still slightly amusing. Fire drills while you're in the shower are always a blast… especially during winter.

The Azumanga characters in this fic are just as supportive of crack pairings as the fandom is…; ) ahehe… Poor Sakaki gets left out of most of the fun… Ah well, next chapter or so.

And Tomo is a hypocrite, though hopefully not when it actually matters.

The bit about eating sandwiches and studying is a small tribute to Ami Mizuno from Sailor Moon.


	9. Chapter 9 Fire Alarm Special

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. And I can't think of anything really witty to say about that.

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and shoujo-ai.

This chapter is all thanks to requests made in reviews.: 9 Y'all know who you are. This is like… totally and completely a shameless filler chapter. There's not even character development.

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

**Chapter 9**

It was now almost the end of the week and Tomo was walking Yomi to work, planning to stop by Kagura's on the way back to see how emotionally unstable she was considering Sakaki's impending visit.

It had snowed again yesterday but during the day while she was at class. She yet again unsuccessfully attempted to get Yomi to go play outside. The sidewalks had been cleared, but she knew they would pass at least one park. She was biding her time… waiting for that perfect moment. First it was many blocks, then several, now two. One more block… there! She had strategically maneuvered so Yomi was walking on the outside. Swiftly leaning to her right, she scooped up a chunk of relatively clean looking snow, tossing it at her friend. With a dull puff noise it connected with Yomi's face, which slowly turned in Tomo's direction, small chunks of snow dripping from her chin.

"Eheh… Yomi? Eep!" Tomo took off into the park, dodging other pedestrians.

Yomi calmly wiped the rest of the slush off before going after Tomo. _Like hell is she getting away with this!_

The paths in the park had been cleared off, large snow banks on each side of the walkways. Tomo had predictably started off rather quickly, but by the time Yomi caught up with her, she could hear her labored breathing signaling that she'd run out of steam.

"Augh!" Realizing that Yomi had actually followed her, she attempted to speed up again, but Yomi quickly grabbed onto her arm before picking up the wildcat's smaller form and tossing her into one of the larger snowdrifts. Dazed for a moment, she felt more snow being piled on top of her to the point where only her head was visible.

"I'll walk the rest of the way to work myself."

She looked worriedly at her friends retreating back, wondering if she had managed to actually tick her off. Just as Yomi reached the gate, however, she turned, flashing Tomo a devilish grin before waving sweetly in her direction.

Tomo sighed somewhat wistfully. _A woman after my own heart._

Removing herself from the piled snow, she attempted to shake herself off a bit. Snow was completely caked onto her coat and pants. Not to mention the stuff that got into her shirt and was burning frigid paths of ice down her skin. Shivering, she decided to high tail it over to Kagura's dorm, knowing it wasn't that much further.

Ignoring the strange looks she was getting, she finally made it to one of the side entrances, using her student ID card to swipe to get in. She walked a couple paces forward before deciding to attempt to rid herself of the snow that was slowly melting into her clothing. Brushing herself off, she left a decent sized pile of disintegrating white in her wake.

She ran up the steps taking two at a time, almost colliding with someone as she turned a corner onto one of the floors.

"Tomo?"

"Huh? Osaka?" Tomo said, surprised to see the other Bonkura.

"Hey, ya comin' ta visit Miss Kagura? She jus' got in the shower 'cause she had practice today. I'm goin' ta get some drinks if ya wanted anything."

"Hmm… coffee! Get me some coffee!" Tomo exclaimed.

"'Kay, I'll be right back," Osaka slowly made her way to the stairwell Tomo had just exited from.

_Coffee. Tea. Juice. Coffee. Tea. Juice._

The vending machines were on the ground level. She only had to retain the order in her memory for a couple flights of stairs.

_Coffee. Tea. Juice. Coffee. Tea. Juice._

She got to the bottom of the steps passing by what was an emergency exit at night, but a side entrance during the day.

_Coffee. Tea. Eh?!_

For a brief moment the world was a blur as she slipped on a large puddle, feet coming up from under her.

"Ow…" she whimpered, slowly getting up.

Looking back at the offending wetness, her expression wounded, she heaved a small sigh before continuing on her journey.

llllllll

Tomo walked over to where she remembered Kagura's room to be. Throwing the door open she saw that it was indeed the athletic woman's residence, swim team sweats lazily thrown over a chair.

She sat down on the couch for a few moments before getting up and walking out the door. She considered going to find Osaka, but as she passed the bathroom, she couldn't help but first make a visit to her other friend.

Walking past the stalls to the section that housed the showers, she called out her friend's name.

"Hey, Kaaaaguraaaa!! Guess who's hee-ere!"

From further down she heard shuffling as one of the showers turned off.

"Tomo!" Kagura shouted, peeking around a cream-colored shower curtain. "What the _hell_ are you doing in here?! Where's Ayumu?"

"She's going to the vending machines, and I got bored sitting in your room by myself."

"Well, heck no are you standing there while I'm takin' a shower. Get _outta_ here! Go turn on the T.V. or something. I'll be done in like five minutes, you idiot!"

"haha You're probably one of the funniest people to see freak out. Yomi's adorable when she gets angry, but man, as far as being entertaining goes, you take the cake, Kagura."

Without thinking, Kagura took her shower sandal and threw it at Tomo who miraculously managed to dodge. It was only after she'd done it that she realized it probably wasn't the best idea. While Kagura was swearing at her own stupidity, Tomo laughed at her predicament. Coming out from behind the curtain, she increased her grip on the towel wrapped around her form before hopping over to Tomo to grab her flip-flop back.

llllllll

Meanwhile, on the main floor Osaka was carrying the drinks back upstairs. Warm coffee in one hand, tea in the other, with the juice tucked in the crook of her arm. _I got 'em all: coffee, tea 'n juice._

Just as she was passing the side door again, she felt her feet slide. First to go was the coffee as the cup hit the floor and the brown liquid splattered. Still in mid-fall, she groped for any sort of hold in order to maintain her balance and preserve her precious cargo. Feeling some sort of grip on the wall to her right she grabbed on blindly. Relief didn't have time to register though as whatever she had latched onto came undone and swung down, her body descending with it. In the end, the only thing survived was the can of juice, her own choice of beverage. She was up against the wall, one arm extended from whatever she had clutched in her desperate attempt to regain her balance. From the knees down she was wet with an uncomfortable combination of coffee, tea, and cold water. And strangely enough, her ears appeared to be ringing. _I didn't think I hit ma' head…_

llllllll

Kagura had successfully snatched back her flip-flop from Tomo and was smacking her head with the sole of it, the wildcat blindly batting at her in defense.

"Take _this_ for messin' with me! And _this _for stealin' my shoe!"

"I didn't _steal_ it! You _threw_ it at me!"

"And _that's_ for buggin' me while I'm takin' a shower!"

Just as she had extended her arm back for another swing, the alarm went off. Both women stopped and looked up.

"Fire?" Kagura questioned.

"It's probably just a drill. Don't they have to do one like once a month or somethin'?"

"We just had one like a week ago."

Kagura desperately looked between Tomo and back to the shower curtain that separated her from her clothes. Tomo, however, grabbed her free arm before motioning towards the door.

"Get your shoe on and lets get the heck out of here!"

Tossing on her flip-flop they made their way into the hallway into the crowd of other students heading towards the nearest exit. Above them the screech of the alarm continued to buzz unpleasantly in and out. With the group they shuffled down the steps and out the exit.

"I hope Ayumu's alright," Kagura murmured, concerned for her friend.

"Yeah, I'm sure she's on her way outside, too," Tomo assured her.

As soon as they crossed the threshold into the bitterly cold exterior, Kagura began regretting not at the very least throwing on her pants. The temperature, however, was only one of her problems. As they backed away from the building, she became increasingly aware of just how exposed she was not only to the elements, but to the eyes of everyone in the vicinity. _Damnit, if only I at least had a bathrobe on._

Shuddering as the coldness gripped her, she would have liked to express her scorn for such a cruel twist of fate as this, but she came to the conclusion that it would be a much better use of her energy to maintain the death grip she had on her towel. _At least it's a decent sized towel. And it's pretty thick, too._

She noticed several people leering at her state of undress and in an attempt to distract her from looking at them, she caught the eye of Tomo who also seemed to be affected by the cold despite wearing a coat. Upon closer inspection, she saw that Tomo, much like herself, was all wet.

"Why the heck are you wet for?" she asked, tone annoyed as if Tomo's sodden state had anything to do with her current predicament. _That's hardly fair though I can't help but be annoyed. At least _she's_ got some clothes on._

"Wet? Oh, umm… I kinda got a lot of snow on me when I was on my way over and when I came into the building, it just sorta melted."

"Hmph, well, serves you right. I coulda been outta the shower by now and dressed, too, if _some_ idiot didn't come to harass me," she griped.

"Just think of what a great story this'll be later though. Actually," Tomo grinned, "it's pretty funny now, if you ask me!"

"Well, I didn't…"

It was then that the fire department pulled up, one of the firefighters going over to talk to the resident director.

All of a sudden Tomo perked up and pointed. "Hey look! It's Osaka!"

There Osaka was, talking with the director and firefighter, tears streaming down her face, what appeared to be a pop can clutched in her hands.

Without a second thought, Kagura took off in their direction, worried about her friend._ Maybe she's hurt!_

She unapologetically pushed through the crowd, too preoccupied with the sight of a sobbing Osaka to be concerned with being polite.

"Ayumu! Are you ok?!" she gasped.

Osaka slowly turned at the sound of her name, and after a moment of prolonged sniffling, recognized that it was Kagura who had called her.

"I'm so sooorry, Miss Kagura! I s-slipped and p-pulled the alaaarm!"

"With excellent timing!" Tomo piped up, earning her several glares from those nearby, she had appeared behind Kagura sometime during Osaka's lament, "I was just tellin' Kagura what a fantastic story this'll be and now it's even _better_!"

"We think someone shook off the snow from their boots on the tile instead of taking care of it on the rubber mats by the door after coming in. You said it was a puddle of water… by the north entrance, Miss Kasuga?" the director questioned.

Osaka only nodded weakly in reply, tears still falling.

Tomo paled at this revelation. _No way… couldn't be…_

"Hey, Kagura… which side of the building do you live on."

"North side," she answered curtly, still annoyed with her energetic companion.

"haha Wow. What a crazy story… haha… ha… and man, Kagura, you're probably going to have your own little fan club after this experience. Ha… yeah, so… maybe we can go inside soon, yeah?"

Both of the other women seemed to ignore her nervous rambling, Kagura patting a still crying Osaka on the back. _Man, I'm so glad it's those two and not Yomi. She would've _mopped_ the floor with me by now._

Her little dinner making stint was fun, but she could, with gruesome precision, envision Yomi giving her all the chores neither of them wanted to do for a month. Or _permanently_ considering causing Yomi to have to stand outside in the middle of winter in only a towel would have been an unforgivable transgression. Not to mention that Yomi probably would've been much better at connecting the dots.

"I'm so sooorry! I'm didn't mean ta do it! I'm so cluumsy!" Osaka wept, Kagura still attempting to console her.

llllllll

Half an hour later, Kagura, now fully dressed, and Tomo were bundled in blankets as they sat on Kagura's small couch, drinking something warm. Osaka sat on a chair with her can of juice, sipping at it forlornly but having calmed down considerably. She was wearing a pair of Kagura's sweatpants that were a bit too large for her petite form.

It had gotten to the point where even the firefighters and other students in the crowd were attempting to comfort her, a couple people offering to walk her back to her own dorm. Kagura had spoken for Osaka saying she was all right and shortly after they had all headed back to Kagura's room, Tomo being sent to get some drinks this time.

Tomo sat next to Kagura, somewhat sulkily. The purpose of her visit had been to get an update on Kagura's emotional state concerning Sakaki and with Osaka present it was rather difficult to do. She could possibly call her later, but Kagura was about as easy to talk to on the phone as it was to have a coherent conversation with Osaka in person. She'd stop by tomorrow, if she even knew when exactly Sakaki was coming in. She'd forgotten to ask Yomi the other night and the last time she tried to call her at work had gotten Tomo chewed out. She had phoned directly to the department she worked for asking specifically for her. After that, Yomi had set guidelines and she doubted her roommate would consider "weekend plans" worthy of an emergency phone call.

"Y'know… it's really too bad that I didn't have a camera on me. That would've just bumped this whole experience up to the next level. Kagura half naked in front of a ton of people with Osaka bawling in the background. A picture really is worth a thousand words."

"Yeah, I'm real broken up about it," Kagura grumbled, rolling her eyes.

Suddenly Tomo sat straight up as a thought struck her, "If only! I totally could've detoweled you! Augh! Golden opportunity!"

Kagura's eyes widened in alarm. "You _wouldn't_."

"Au contraire, m'dear. Pulling stuff like that is my raison d'être"

"Whatever." _Man, I hate it when she pulls that other language crap. She probably isn't even sayin' it right… hell, maybe she just makes up words. Yeah, I bet that's it._

"Well, maybe I wouldn't have gone _that_ far, but I probably would've suggested it. Really though, that would've sealed the deal and made this day truly memorable. The Day Kagura Streaked in the Middle of Winter. It would have become a National Holiday whose popularity would be promoted by the greeting card companies and maybe even a made for T.V. movie would've been created in honor of the event. You'd be famous."

"OK, Tomo, I get your point. You think it'd be hilarious and everyone'd have a good laugh at my expense. Very cute. If it's any consolation, I'm sure I'll be hearing about this for at least a week."

"Temper, temper. I hope you'll be in a better mood tomorrow because as you know-"

Kagura shot Tomo a venomous glance in warning.

"It _is_ going to be Friday and you don't want to waste the weekend sulking now, do you?"

"Yeah, don't worry Miss Kagura, everyone'll forget ya were outside in jus' a towel," Osaka chimed in, "ya don't got anything ta be ashamed about."

Appreciative of Osaka's efforts, but not exactly cheered by them, Kagura couldn't help but hide her face in her blanket and give a groan of frustration.

"Why? Why me? Why now? I can't handle this!"

"Hey now, so it was pretty funny that you just happened to be one of the only people mid shower when the alarm went off, and even more entertaining that you definitely were the only one hanging around outside in just a towel, but chin up, kiddo. We're gonna have a good time this weekend. I already figured out what we're doin' tomorrow night."

"Oh no… who decided to put _you_ in charge?"

Tomo put her index finger to her chin, thinking for a moment. "I believe it was… me."

"_Figures_."

"No, really. It'll be great. We're going ice skating and then for some dessert after that."

"Ice skating…" Osaka trailed off, looking mesmerized.

Tomo disregarded her distracted companion and continued with the plan for the upcoming weekend, "I figure we'd just order in before we go out. Let Sakaki pick what she wants to eat since she's the guest and all. Saturday night, I dunno… something laid back 'cause Yomi says she's not going if we go dancing 'cause she's lame like that."

"Yeah… I guess… I mean, wait, not about Yomi, but it sounds ok. Your ideas, I mean. And ice skating, huh? I always thought hockey looked fun, but that's not quite the same thing as just ice skating."

"Well, this is going to be one heck of a weekend. I guarantee it," Tomo promised, looking specifically at Kagura who gulped nervously.

Certainly not for the first time and probably not the last, Kagura thought to herself, _Oh man, what'd I get myself into…?_

Author's Notes: They're always so friggin' excited about getting juice. It's all about the juice. Like when Nyamo and Yukari bet and Yukari always promises them juice and everybody cheers as if they've won the Lotto. Sorry, random thought when I was writing the part with Osaka.

This was written in between lunch and attempting to write an actual paper (but I gave up on that after five pages of garbage was typed). Well, a couple pages were written before lunch, too. "Study day" is actually a code for "Day of no study". So on this "Study day" I decided to write this quick extra chapter… that has nothing to do with anything, but was maybe slightly entertaining. But the night is young and I've got places to be and people to see. Woo!

Tomo uses Spanish every once in awhile… so… why not French? Though her using French correctly probably wouldn't occur… and I can guarantee she's not pronouncing it right.

And Osaka crying… really makes me think more animé crocodile tears than a truly sad moment. I suppose it just adds to the chaos of the scene.

(12/11/06: I fixed some mistakes… when this was posted there had been little to no proofreading… oh, and I'd like to see what people think of as far as pairings are concerned… send me a PM? Or write it in a review… I'm not promising anything, but I'm kinda torn between different possibilities…)


	10. Chapter 10

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I do not own Azumanga Daioh or Azumanga Web Daioh (yes, there is a reference to it in this chapter).

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and shoujo-ai.

Now back to your irregularly scheduled fanfic. Warning for slight sappiness (Kagura's sensitivity tends to make for scenes that can get maybe too sentimental), and apologies in advance if you're scarred by Osaka's conversation. Sakaki is. I probably am, too. This chapter err jumps around liek woah and gets rather chaotic. So, I'm sorry about that. It might be fixed in the future.: p

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

**Chapter 10**

She was at the train station feeling strangely alone in the crowd of people. The night before she had talked with Yomi over the phone and her serious, responsible friend had said she was going to pick her up; they were going to meet at the bookstore next to the coffee shop. She could have found her way to Tomo and Yomi's apartment herself, but it warmed her a bit that Yomi had insisted that she be met at the station. Outwardly cool and calm, she felt a wave of nervous excitement building up inside. It had been several months since she had seen everyone, rarely e-mailing and calling even less often. She would be happily surprised every time she received a message, even if it was just some chain letter Tomo had forwarded to her inbox or a card on a holiday that bore not much more than a signature. She kept it all, holding onto those final threads that tied her to her high school friends with desperation that during her more cynical moments she deemed pathetic.

Maybe everyone wouldn't be so happy to see her. Yomi had sounded rather cheerful over the phone, chit chatting about some of what had happened during the week. Tomo was regularly attending class, Yomi had a job, and everyone was, more or less, getting along. Everyone… Kagura, Ayumu, Yomi, Tomo and she had even briefly mentioned something about Kaorin and Chihiro. Kaorin she certainly recalled, but remembering who exactly Chihiro was required a quick look in the yearbook. She was never good with placing names with faces. It made her happy though to know Kaorin was doing well, if a bit uncomfortable to think about it.

She pulled her small, rolling suitcase to a stop next to her. Briefly scanning both the coffee shop and bookstore, she didn't catch sight of a longhaired brunette of Yomi's build and height. After waiting several minutes she purchased a coffee and then a magazine to idly read through to pass the time.

A good fifteen minutes later, just when she was beginning to wonder if she should give Yomi a call, she heard the banter of two familiar voices. She looked up, searching the crowd. She couldn't see them yet, but she definitely heard them.

"I didn't realize she was coming into _this_ station! I just figured it was the other one! I mean, come on! What kind of instructions are 'meet her by the coffee shop and bookstore'?!"

"Well, now we're like half an hour late! I said we call Yomi to double check but _nooo _someone was 'for sure' that we had the right directions!"

"Well… at the time, I was!"

Sakaki couldn't help the somewhat silly grin she was sure had appeared on her face as the two Bonkuras emerged from the crowd. Standing up, her reserved nature held back the sudden wish to envelope both in her arms. _Oh, you're both a sight for sore eyes._

Kagura had been too busy berating Tomo to fully consider the implications of picking up Sakaki. She would have adamantly refused to go, but Tomo, the little brat, had strategically asked her to go while Yomi was still there. Unable to effectively refuse the request without looking suspicious, she reluctantly agreed to go. And then stupid Tomo had taken them to the wrong station so they had to catch a cab to get to the correct location. Originally, they had planned on being there fifteen minutes early and now were ridiculously late.

"Next time _I_ get directions!" she barked. Tomo just smirked at her before motioning with her eyebrows to something in front of them.

Kagura turned, still annoyed at how irresponsible Tomo could be, before her breath caught in her throat. _Sa-sakaki!_ She hadn't realized they were already there, having been thoroughly engrossed in giving Tomo a piece of her mind. Torn between shouting, crying, running away and turning around to smack Tomo who was poking her side and probably grinning like an idiot, she stood there.

Tomo assessed the situation. Generally she wasn't one for careful consideration, but as an interested party she would like for this operation to be a success. At the moment, Sakaki stood by a small café table, beginning to look uncertain, as Kagura wore a convincing deer caught in headlights expression.

Tomo gently nudged her friend's side with an elbow before whispered out the side of her mouth, "Go _over_ there. You're lookin' at her like she's some kinda monster… I'm not puttin' up with any more of that lovelorn shit from you if you screw this up."

"Uh… huh…" Kagura managed weakly, the initial shock wearing off. Cautiously approaching Sakaki, she regained more confidence with each step. _Casual. That's what we're going for. Smooth and casual._

"Hey."

"H-hello, Kagura," Sakaki spoke softly, looking at Kagura questioningly. _Is she upset?_

Seeing that Sakaki was just as hesitant as she was, she felt herself smile. _She's not angry._

At the sight of Kagura's honest, friendly grin, relief washed over her.

"Hey. I've missed you," Kagura said, this greeting spoken with more enthusiasm as she leaned forward to embrace the much taller woman.

Blushing at the contact, Sakaki returned the gesture tentatively at first before looking down surprised. Through the hand lightly placed on Kagura's back she felt the other woman shaking slightly.

"Sorry…" Kagura whispered, "I'm sorry for everything. I wanted to tell you in person." The shorter woman looked up, smiling through her tears. It probably wasn't the right moment, in a crowded train station, but if people were watching or not, she didn't really know. The only things that mattered at the moment were the strong arms that tightened their hold around her.

Sakaki felt herself almost moved to tears at the open show of emotions.

"I'm sorry, too," she murmured, cheek resting against the top of Kagura's head.

Sniffling a bit, Kagura chuckled and grinned before poking a bit of fun at herself, "Man, I can believe how easy I tear up. But really, it's great to see you."

Breaking away slowly, they wiped their eyes. As soon as they had let go of each other completely a third form joined the two squeezing them all together.

"Woohoo!" Tomo cried happily, dancing from one foot to the other as the two caught in her hug gasped. For the past couple of moments she had been itching to do something, hands twitching at her side as she witnessed the reunion. It was touching, but waiting for it to end was driving her crazy. Never one to stand on the sidelines, she squashed them both cheerfully chattering away at how great it was to have everybody together again and how much fun the weekend was going to be.

llllllll

Tomo had somehow gotten the idea in her head that it'd be better to just make dinner for everyone the first night and then go out to a nice place the second. Making dinner, however, would require them to go to the store and knowing Tomo, sending her to get groceries was never a good idea. She most likely would come back with way more things that they needed, all falling under the junk food category.

So, Yomi had agreed to let Tomo go get Sakaki from the train station as she went shopping for food. It was the least she could do considering Sakaki probably already had paid a good amount for her train ticket. _And I'm not a half bad cook, if I do say so myself._ Cooking for herself brought her back to the days when she counted calories, but preparing a meal for others could sometimes be enjoyable. She had a great appreciation for the flavor and quality of a meal, something that tended to get her in trouble, but at least ensured that the food wasn't going to taste like cardboard.

Carrying a couple bags up the steps she wondered if they had gotten back yet.

She attempted to reach for her keys with one hand, but gave up and put the groceries on the ground before getting the keys out. As soon as she opened the door she heard the sound of riotous laughter. _Well, Tomo and Kagura are back… let's see if they actually brought Sakaki with them._

"haha! Oh man! You're such a spazz!"

"I know! I know! I'm great, aren't I? This is _quality_! _Quality_, I say! Wait wait… ahaha I remember this part! Way to go, genius! You knocked the camera over! hahaha"

"Wow… our voices seem weird on this, don't they?"

"Yeah. Whoa. I sound like a little kid."

"And hey, I hardly got any screen time! What the hell?!"

"bwahaha! It's _Yukari_! I wonder what she's up to? Haha"

"Hey, anyone ever tell you that you suck as a camera person? I swear, we see more of your feet and the ceiling than actual people in this."

"Hey, hey. I was being _artistic_. The ceiling represents uh limitations in life. Like graduation. It was the ceiling of our high school experience."

"Pssh. _Bull_ shit."

"Yeah!? Well at least I didn't give everyone a free show before kicking the camera over! And talking about free shows, we never got to tell Sakaki about your little experience yesterday."

"What happened yesterday?" Yomi inquired, turning everyone's attention away from the television set.

"Hey! Yomi!" Tomo happily exclaimed, standing up.

"Hey," Kagura casually waved, happy for the subject change.

Sakaki turned, stating her own greeting, unsure if she should stand up and hug the other woman as she had Kagura and Tomo or remain seated. In the end she stayed in her spot on the couch next to Kagura who was actually getting up.

"Here, let me help you with that," Kagura said, taking a couple of the bags from Yomi who expressed her thanks.

"Hey! I can help, too!" Tomo shouted, standing up.

"That's alright, Tomo, Kagura and I have it. I'm glad these two found you, Sakaki. I was a little worried when I sent them, but it seems like everything turned out ok."

Tomo and Kagura just looked at each other before glancing at Sakaki who only nodded in affirmation to Yomi's statement; the two troublemakers were off the hook, heaving a relieved sigh in unison.

"Oh, and Yomi, you gotta see this! Sakaki brought a tape from second year that Chiyo gave to her. It's _great_! Like really great! We called Osaka and she's on her way over. I forgot we even _made_ this. You both _have_ to see it!"

"Hmm. I'm surprised it still exists. I'd forgotten we made a video, too," Yomi mused, "I thought it got bulldozed over when Ayumu buried it."

"Chiyo told me Ayumu went back and saved the tape," Sakaki quietly explained, speaking for the first time since she said hello to Yomi.

"She would be crazy enough to do something like that," Tomo said, "But wow. It was kinda weird seeing everybody. That was like… four years ago? Somethin' like that. haha And Yukari and Nyamo, too."

"Yeah, I saw them last semester. They came to one of my meets," Kagura explained.

"What?! Really? Were they the same as back in high school?" Tomo exclaimed, very interested.

"Pretty much. Yukari's as cheap as ever and coach still puts up with it."

"Oh, Yukari. You were one of a kind. I didn't realize it then but you really were a role model in so many ways…" Tomo trailed off.

"… or… a representation of how _not_ to act," Yomi commented dryly, slightly disturbed.

"Remember that time Yukari had us translate that poem about the monster… or dragon… or whatever it was?" Tomo asked, ignoring Yomi's previous statement.

"'The Jabberwocky'" Sakaki replied, quietly.

"Yeah, that's it. Man, we knew somethin' was wrong when even _Chiyo_ didn't get it. That was cruel, Yukari."

"Brilliant, but cruel," Yomi broke in with a tone of admiration, "She'd probably been saving that one for two years."

"Yeah! I bet she gives it to every class she gets. I'd love to see the next set of kids try and work that one out!" Tomo grinned gleefully at the thought.

"Well, I'll starting cooking and you can show the movie again when Ayumu gets here," Yomi said, finished removing the food from the bags.

"Is there anything you need help with?" Sakaki asked, not wanting to make Yomi do all the work.

"No, no. That's alright. You relax. I know you're probably a little tired from traveling-"

"That's ok. I really am fine. I can help," Sakaki quietly offered in earnest.

"Well, there are some vegetables that can be cut. I already set them by the cutting board over there by the sink," Yomi stated pointing to her left, "and knives are in the drawer right underneath there."

Seeing that Yomi was going to start cooking, Kagura and Tomo had cleared out of the kitchen to watch the tape again, surprised to see that Sakaki had opted to stay behind to help.

"Oh well, her loss," Tomo shrugged, "This thing never gets old."

"Yeah, I just wish we had made more, y'know? Of the sports and culture fests. Or the trip to Okinawa," Kagura said, feeling a bit nostalgic.

Tomo was about to rewind the tape when the two heard someone knocking on the door.

"It's probably Osaka. Wanna get it?" Tomo asked.

"Yeah, sure," Kagura said, going over to answer the door.

Opening it she was surprised to see that it was not Osaka, but two unexpected guests.

"Uhh… hey," Kagura welcomed the newcomers awkwardly.

"Hello umm Kagura, right?" one of the visitors, a female, said timidly.

"Yeah, uhh Chihiro, right?"

"Yes," the other girl said, relieved that she had gotten it right. She remembered the rest of the girls and saw them every once in awhile, but Kagura had just transferred this semester and she really hadn't hung out with this group when Kagura had been around. Looking over to her companion whose gaze was averted, she nudged her a bit.

"Hello," Kaorin finally spoke.

"Hey, come on in you guys. Yomi and Sakaki are working on dinner in the kitchen. Tomo and I were just uhh watching a movie," Kagura explained, feeling bad that so far the main event had been watching a homemade video that the two most recent guests weren't a part of.

Kaorin felt her feet drag in protest. She hadn't wanted to come and had avoided all the summer get-togethers with weak excuses, just because of the possibility that Sakaki might be there.

Foolishly she had professed her adoration of the taller woman the first summer after graduation. She had somehow summoned up the courage to give the girl a call to see if she would like to spend the afternoon together. The memory was still embarrassingly and painfully engraved in her mind. The request had been horridly formal; she had felt Sakaki was too good for a casual invite to the movies or park. She remembered she had said something about being "much obliged if Miss Sakaki would grace her with her presence", stuttering the entire way. When Sakaki had actually accepted, Kaorin was amazed, she was beside herself, and her heart soared.

About an hour and a half later everything came crashing down. It all had gone from rose to gray with a simple rejection. It had been a last ditch effort, admittedly, but it was one thing to not have her dream come true, and something horribly more despairing to know that such a dream was truly an impossibility.

She had thought herself beyond consolation, but unable to seclude herself and deal with the misery on her own, she had gone to the one friend who had been with her through everything else, everything except this one little secret she had kept locked inside. Knowing she had almost hit rock bottom, she was willing to take one more risk that could ultimately estrange even this last friend from her. She confessed everything. Why she had yelled at her at the one sports fest when they were supposed to be running partners in the three-legged race, her immense happiness at finally receiving copies of the developed photos from graduation, and why she had hounded Tomo for them.

Whatever reaction she had been expecting, it had been quite the opposite of what had actually happened. It seemed she hadn't been the only one that day with hidden hopes that needed to be shared. Chihiro, quiet, ordinary Chihiro who was so often shoved into the background of Kaori's life anytime Sakaki came onto the scene, loved her but not how she admired Sakaki; Chihiro loved _her_. Kaorin never really had thought someone would actually love _her_. Even if it had worked out with Sakaki, she thought it would be because in her dreams Sakaki fit so well into the roll of the hero and she as the damsel who needed rescuing that she hadn't considered how much Sakaki knew about her or how much she really knew about Sakaki.

It took some time, but she was able to realize that a real Chihiro was unimaginably better than a dream Sakaki. So, in the end, perhaps she should be thankful to the lone wolf who had inadvertently brought the two together.

That still didn't make her feel any better about coming and seeing her face to face though. She had agonized over it ever since Yomi had called to invite them over, informing her that Sakaki would be in town for the weekend, completely ignorant of what had happened that summer a couple years ago. Chihiro, however, had said that this was a good chance to try to work things out, to show her good will. After all, Sakaki was still friends with the rest and if they all still hung out together, even if it wasn't all that often, there would eventually be a day when Kaori and Sakaki would have to meet. She had ended her lecture by lightheartedly commenting that Kaorin was adorable when she got all bent out of shape, punctuating the comment with a kiss. It was nice to know someone backed her up even after knowing about such stupid past actions.

And that was why even after they had taken their shoes off, Kaorin still had a death grip on Chihiro's arm. Cautiously looking into the kitchen, she resisted the urge to hide behind her girlfriend once she caught sight of the tall, lean form with that gorgeous black mane of hair. Sakaki was still as fantastic looking as ever. Before could start staring, she caught herself and looked over at Chihiro who gave her a reassuring smile.

"Hey! I didn't know you guys were coming! Great! The more people we got, the better it'll be!" Kaorin looked over to her side to see the, as usual, lively Tomo.

While her gaze was directed towards Tomo, Sakaki must have turned around because as she looked back to the kitchen their eyes met. As if from a distance she could vaguely feel her chest tighten with a sharp intake of breath. She felt Chihiro gently guiding her over to the kitchen.

"Hello Miss Sakaki," Kaorin managed to say, though a bit stiffly before Chihiro lightly elbowed her, "I hope you have been well these past few years."

Sakaki murmured in the affirmative, "Hello Kaorin, Chihiro."

Yomi was also present for the tableau, before excusing herself from the room saying that she thought she heard someone else at the door, a bit uneasy once she sensed the tension in the air.

_Kaorin_, Sakaki thought. She was afraid the shorter girl was going to be there. Her thoughts had mainly focused on the different ways Kagura's reaction could have gone and she hadn't even considered Kaorin a possibility until Yomi had mentioned her in the phone call. She watched as Chihiro unlatched Kaorin's arm from her own before patting her on the shoulder supportively and walking out of the room.

She never had thought Kaorin was all that interested in her as a friend let alone as a, well, a romantic interest. She actually for quite some time had been under the impression that the generally shy girl was afraid of her. Completely shocked when Kaorin revealed the truth of her feelings to her, she remembered she had said something about not being interested in a relationship at the time and that it would be for the best considering she was going to a school further away. In fact, after she had gotten past being too flustered to speak, her response most likely seemed rather cold. It was one of the things she avoided thinking about too much, but at the moment she wished she had now that she was faced with the reality of the situation.

Unable to come up with anything to say, and seeing the group of potential eavesdroppers just in the other room, worried about them even though their attention appeared to be glued to the television, she remained silent, mouth opening a couple times uselessly.

"It's alright. I think I understand now," Kaorin said, now able to see Sakaki in a different light and not as the starry eyed teen she used to be, "It wasn't you and… I'm sorry I assumed things," Kagura said, blushing out of embarrassment.

"It's… it's fine. I hope… I mean, if it's alright with you, it would be nice if we could be friends," Sakaki said, smiling hesitantly.

"Yeah, Miss Sakaki, that'd… that'd be nice," Kaorin said, feeling her heart turn joyful somersaults in her chest. Returning the smile she went back into the other room to discretely grab onto Chihiro's hand, rubbing her thumb against the palm as the other woman deduced from Kaorin's expression that the chat had gone well.

Shortly after Osaka walked in greeting everyone in that dazed way of hers, noticing Sakaki last since she was in a separate room.

"Evenin', Miss Sakaki. Ya sure are as tall as ya were when I last saw ya."

Not really knowing what her height had to do with anything, she responded in kind anyway.

At that moment Tomo shouted something from the living room area about "welcoming the delinquent". Osaka must have understood whatever it had referred to as she tearfully replied that she wished she wasn't so clumsy sometimes. Kagura joined in by telling Tomo to shut up, only causing Tomo to be even more intent on poking fun.

"haha Well, being clumsy is better than being an exhibitionist, eh, Kagura?"

"Ex-exhibitionist?!" the athletic girl spluttered, standing up with balled fists and mind working double time to dig up dirt on Tomo, "W-well, least I don't harass people while they're takin' a shower!"

"It's ok Kagura," Yomi said, completely confused by everything that had happened in the past ten minutes or so but willing to come to the other woman's aid, "I doubt Tomo told you what happened Sunday night."

"Eh?! No fair! Double teaming! That's against the rules! No table talk!" Tomo hollered, pointing an accusing finger at Yomi.

All the while Osaka had continued to apologize, sniffling as Kaorin and Chihiro attempted to comfort her.

"haha You can dish it out, but you can't take it!" Kagura taunted.

"Well, I am a bit curious myself as to what occurred yesterday…" Yomi said, once again playing devil's advocate before going back to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. The pointless bickering between Kagura and Tomo was preferred over the awkward situation she had stumbled into earlier and at least it kept the two occupied. She would ask Tomo later for an update. Sakaki and she finished dinner and over an hour later they had eaten and were heading out after agreeing to go with Tomo's idea of ice-skating.

Taking taxis over to the park, they got there when it was already dark outside, the rink lit up with its own lighting. Everyone rented a pair of skates and they all got on the ice with varying degrees of stability. Osaka was probably worst off, legs parted slightly as she desperately attempted to regain her balance. The others skated along merrily while she wasn't able to move either forwards or backwards. Taking a deep breath, she tentatively slid one skate in front of her, successfully holding her position for several seconds before she lost control of her footing and almost slid into the splits.

Bending at her waist, she put her two hands down on the ice, attempting to push herself up, legs still spread. Her body just wasn't that flexible. Slowly trying to elevate herself from the ice, one hand slipped as her chin connected with the ice skating rink, form prostrate. _It's awful cold._

Before she could once more try to get up, someone skated over and offered her a gloved hand. Looking up she saw that it was Kagura.

"Need some help there?" her friend offered, eyes dancing over her scarf that muffled her voice slightly.

"I'm jus' no good at ice-skatin', Miss Kagura," Osaka lamented.

"Here, grab a hold of my hand and I'll help you."

Eyes furrowed in worry, she hesitantly gripped Kagura's glove as the other woman held onto her opposite shoulder with her other hand and helped pull her off the ice.

Brushing the bits of the rink that had collected on her coat, Kagura hooked arms with Osaka before slowly skating back towards the group.

Osaka yelped a bit as she felt her feet wobble, sure that she was going to end up in an unpleasant face plant yet again.

"Hey, hey, don't worry. I won't let you fall."

"I'm not really worried about ya lettin' me fall, Miss Kagura. I'm worried about my feet trippin' us up and knockin' us both over. I'm jus' not coordinated like ya are."

"We'll then we both go down and we both get back up again."

"Well, as long as y'know that it's a bit dangerous doin' things like this with me, I s'pose it's alright." Interrupting their conversation, a voice shouted from behind them.

"Watch out!!" someone frantically bellowed. Looking around, they saw a rapidly moving Tomo, arms wheeling in an attempt to slow her down.

Kagura grabbed onto Osaka and moved them out of the way just in time for Tomo to fly by and connect with the wall.

Skating over, the group amassed around the wildcat who was laying on the ice, unmoving.

"Hey, you ok?" Kagura asked.

"Oh yeah… I'm great… you can go real fast… on these things," Tomo explained, panting.

"She challenged Sakaki to a race around the rink and lost control on the turn," Yomi clarified the situation before peeling her roommate off the ice. Tomo had an arm around the taller woman's shoulder, grinning as she inhaled gulps of air.

The rest of their time skating was more or less uneventful as Kagura attempted to teach her friend how to skate on her own, but eventually decided that it was not meant to be and held onto her arm so she wouldn't fall. Tomo challenged Sakaki twice more, failing miserably in both races before she decided to give Kagura a try in a four time around the rink race. Kagura lapped Tomo on the third loop. Having lost a number of times, Tomo, tired of racing, loudly declared that they all go get some dessert.

llllllll

Half an hour later found them in a cozily warm café. Tomo had proclaimed her immunity to the low temperatures and to prove it, had bought some ice cream instead of the tea, coffee, and hot chocolate everyone else was purchasing.

The group of seven was sitting around a table, chatting as they warmed up. Somehow Sakaki had ended up at one of the heads of the table between Chihiro and Osaka. Completely unfazed by Sakaki's taciturn personality, Osaka happily rambled through several seemingly unrelated topics before she started discussing her latest television findings.

"So, I was watchin' this show the other night an' they were talkin' about the Black Plague an' how it traveled from Asia inta Europe."

Sakaki made a non-committal murmur as Osaka continued.

"Pandemics are the scariest things. It's always like that in the zombie movies. One person gets sick and then ya don't know until BAM! it's too late an' ya gotta jus' run for your life, y'know?"

She wouldn't know because she avoided zombie movies and actually, horror movies in general. She very much liked happy endings and talking about cannibalistic walking corpses made her more than a little uncomfortable. Sakaki couldn't help but wonder why she was the only one stuck in a conversation with Osaka… Kagura who had been so attentive earlier now appeared to be focusing on whatever Tomo and Yomi were discussing.

"If y'all got turned inta zombies an' I was the only person left I think I'd rather drown or somethin' instead of lettin' ya eat me. I heard ya die real peaceful like that."

"I would think you would suffocate before you would drown…"

"Hmm… well, might as well light yourself on fire so ya can take out a bunch of zombies as ya go. Y'know… they're afraid of fire."

Increasingly upset at the turn this conversation had taken, she attempted to come up with some sort of response that would change the topic to something more peaceful and less violent.

As she was about to say something, Tomo yelled across the table to them, "Hey, whatcha talkin' about?"

Before she could think of a reply, Osaka offered her own answer, "We were talkin' about the best way ta get rid of zombies."

Sakaki weakly tried to protest as the rest of the table wore expressions ranging from shocked to confused. Only Tomo seemed at all curious about the subject.

"Hey, there's that new horror movie out tonight-" Tomo began to suggest.

"Abso_lutely_ not," Yomi snapped before coughing, maintaining her glare throughout.

_Thank you, Yomi. _Thank_ you._

"Actually, it looked kinda good… almost more of a mystery than just blood and guts," Kagura remarked.

_Nono. Please._ Breaking out in a nervous sweat, Sakaki silently prayed that Yomi would once again overturn the decision.

"The night is young, Yomi! It's only like 9:00. Plenty of time to see a movie."

"Well, I suppose, if that's what you all want to do…" Yomi gave in, looking over to Sakaki for confirmation.

The tall woman was unable to bring herself to go against the group's wishes.

"Alright then! Let's pay for this stuff and get over to the theater."

Author's Notes: The tape is Azumanga Web Daioh. I think there's a copy of it up on youtube… Voices can sound a lot different when they're recorded, but this is also a reference to the fact that the voice actresses are almost all different in the anime (the only one that's the same is Nyamo's voice actress in Azumanga Web Daioh continued to work on the anime as the voice of Yukari herself).

If I were a teacher of English to non-native speakers… I'd love to just do that as like a mean April Fool's Joke (or con someone else into doing it…). If you don't know what "The Jabberwocky" is, it's a poem by Lewis Carroll… where most of the words are nonsense. So, with only the aid of a dictionary, and without any familiarity with the poem, a non-native speaker would have one heckuva time trying to translate the thing. Cruel and unusual, but I think Yukari would get a kick out of it. "'Twas brillig, and the slithey toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe…" I can definitely picture her sitting there thinking "_This'_ll keep the brats busy for awhile…" I didn't want to include that bit considering how random it is… but that'd be awesome if she did something like that.X D

And I have an extreme dislike for zombie movies. I'm rather squeamish.: p

I bring back Chihiro and Kaorin because they were mentioned in Chapter 1… and weren't necessarily forgotten, but I just figured since they're more outsiders anyway, they only get invited to the big, planned get-togethers, which the weekend Sakaki visits counts as. And Sakaki and Kaorin vaguely make me think of Aizen and Hinamori from Bleach… well, just the whole hero worship thing and when Aizen says that one line about admiration being the furthest thing from understanding… ah, when Bleach was good… And well, as far as Kaorin goes… she's low low on the Totem pole where character favorites are concerned but my general way of looking at things like this could be summed up with "Don't hate! Appreciate!"; 9 And well, if you don't like her, she's not going to become a main character in this at all, so don't worry.

Thanks very much to all those who have left reviews.: ) You're wonderful!: D I think I've been a bum and not included a thank you like this in the past couple of chapters. Sorry for that! Especially for you repeat reviewers who tend to get more than you probably bargained for (… ridiculously long and incoherent review replies…).

8daze: haha Bribe! Makes me think of Scooby Doo. "Would you do it for a juice box?"


	11. Chapter 11

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I do not own Azumanga Daioh.

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and shoujo-ai.

Nothing really happens in this chapter. Just a bit of awkward conversation and Yomi in a bad mood.

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

**Chapter 11**

The movie last night was ridiculous. She knew she'd been right in refusing to go the first time around, but Sakaki hadn't objected and Kagura and Tomo had insisted and she didn't want to be the cranky, no fun one in the whole group's eyes. Tomo's opinion was a different matter entirely, as in, if Tomo thought she was a drag, it _didn't_ matter because Tomo could deal with it.

Of course the movie was violent. Of course it was disgusting. Of course it had little to no plot beyond kill or be killed. If she didn't know any better, she would say her tall, stoic visitor was traumatized by it. Tomo, Kagura, and Osaka on the other hand, seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly.

Their group was the only one in the theater (a sure sign of the quality of the film). It had been its opening night and already was being shown on one of the smaller screens. Tomo, however, took it as a fortuitous circumstance, announcing her opinion from in front of the screen as the previews rolled while the rest of them all sat closer to the top.

Osaka, she couldn't really tell, but she felt like the girl was having a good time, priding herself in being able to tell before hand when something was going to jump out yet managing to be just as surprised as the victims when they were mauled, mangled, and terrified.

It was the pinnacle of stupidity and it had cost a heinous amount of money. Never again. She knew they should've just done karaoke. Of course, the movie wasn't the end of it. She _knew _she had been getting sick all week, and of course when they exited the theater she was even worse off than she had been the day before. Waking up on Saturday, she was miserable.

Her throat was dry, and she could feel her head ache as the throbbing pain moved up from her sinuses to her forehead and temples. Hardly able to focus on the wall clock she saw that it was half past eight. Forcing herself to get up she walked over to the kitchen and put some water on to make tea, taking a tiny wicker wastebasket with her to toss out the contents in the larger kitchen garbage. Her body moved sluggishly, protesting her upright position. She was sure she looked a mess and could feel that the part of her hair was lopsided. It had taken her most of the night to fall asleep so she was also certain her eyes didn't look much better.

"I _haade_ this," came out more like a croaked grumble than spoken words. Great, she knew she was congested, but now she also sounded it. Wanting to retreat back to her room and hide from the world, she remembered Sakaki was there and probably still sleeping.

At least she had found a box of tissues in the hall closet. Setting it on the coffee table and taking the small wastebasket from the bathroom, she had watched the television on mute from 3:00 to 5:00 in the morning after everyone had gone to sleep, unable to fall asleep herself due to how she had already begun hacking and how her nose was all blocked up making it difficult to breathe properly.

Silently, she cursed her bad luck. Of course she'd get sick when they were having a guest over. Sakaki herself had stayed awake with her from 1:00 until 2:00 in the morning, the hour in between their chat and turning the T.V. on had been dedicated to her unsuccessfully attempting to fall asleep and then giving up.

Talking with Sakaki though had been somewhat strange, but in a pleasant way, and she was sure that if Tomo knew they were both up, she would've remained awake herself, never one to miss out on anything. In between the companionable silence, they had chatted about what was going on in their lives, every once in awhile reminiscing and probably idealizing their high school memories. Their group had had a lot of fun together, but there were still some things she wouldn't miss from high school like getting up early so many times a week, taking the same subjects every year with little choice with either classes or the teachers, and wearing those awful gym uniforms.

During their tête-à-tête she had done most of the talking, but it hadn't become awkward, as Sakaki had willingly and attentively listened, which was a nice change from Tomo who tended to have very selective hearing, though she had gotten better over the years.

As she was pouring herself a cup of tea, two arms grabbed her from behind, shaking her from her reverie, wrapping themselves around her waist, successfully interrupting her thoughts. She jumped and some of the hot water from the cup splashed on her hand causing her to drop it on reflex. It landed with a clang, but didn't break. Craning her head to look behind her, she glared accusingly at Tomo.

"heheh Ummm… oops? Sorry?" she said, smiling yet the expression in her eyes showed she knew she was in trouble.

Grumbling under her breath, she removed herself from the embrace, too annoyed to acknowledge the strangeness of Tomo waking up and giving her a hug. Leaning over to the oven, she grabbed a dishtowel to clean up the mess with.

"Uh, morning," Tomo said, standing a bit behind her.

"Bordig," she muttered in reply.

"Oh dang. You really did get sick this week, huh?" Tomo said, tossing one arm around Yomi's shoulders as she watched her friend clean up the spilt water.

Yomi glowered down at her before responding. "I'b a bess… id's nod fair. You rud aroud like ad idiod withoud a coad on, bud I'b the persod who geds sick."

"Oh, poor _baby_!" Tomo mocked.

"Poor baby, ideed! I cad eved sleep id by roob do ged away frob all this dodsedse," Yomi muttered looking directly at Tomo to emphasize what exactly she had meant by "nonsense".

Deciding to have mercy on her irritated friend, Tomo changed tactics.

"Well, you can just sleep in my room. So, I take it you're not going to be in the mood to hang out today?"

"Do," Yomi grunted before coughing into her hand.

"Hey, let me finish cleaning up in here and you go back to bed, 'kay?"

Yomi just nodded before trudging over to Tomo's room and shutting the door behind her, not feeling up to attempting to make another batch of tea.

Tomo sighed before she finished mopping up the rest of the mess and putting the cup in the sink. Yomi could be such a mope sometimes. Granted, she did seem like she was feeling pretty under the weather, but it looked like she probably had no intentions of going out even later tonight. _Well, maybe we can go do some karaoke._ Things _could_ be much worse. And maybe it would be easier this way for her to prod Kagura into taking some sort of action. Her efforts the previous night were feeble at best. Seeing the way the two greeted the other at the train station yesterday made her hopeful, but after that it had all gone on as if they were back in high school again. Fun as that was, it didn't really lend itself to any romantic encounters, though the movie they had seen did lead to a bit of interaction, Kagura comforting Sakaki during the more graphic parts. Even Tomo had to admit that it was pretty damn cute and she was sure Kagura had went home satisfied.

Unfortunately for Kagura, they were on a tight schedule. Tonight was one of her last opportunities. Just as she was starting to heat up some more water for tea, planning on taking it into Yomi who she knew was still awake because she could hear her coughing, Sakaki ambled into the kitchen rubbing her eyes.

"Morning, sunshine!" Tomo greeted her enthusiastically causing the other woman to blush.

"Good morning," Sakaki murmured, suddenly self-conscious in her pale pink pajamas.

"Well, I'm making some tea if you want some," Tomo offered.

"Yes, that would be nice thank you," the taller woman meekly stated.

"You can take a seat and relax. Yomi was up but she just went back to bed and'll probably be asleep for the next couple of hours. Uhh if you wanna take a shower, I think Yomi already gave you a towel and there's soap and shampoo and whatever else in the bathroom there… Yeah, that's about it…" Tomo trailed off awkwardly, not really sure what to say to the tall, silent Sakaki.

"Thank you," Sakaki said, equally unsure of how to continue a conversation with Tomo. The furthest most of their interactions during high school had gone where when Tomo would point out her chest size and she would blush, mortified.

An uncomfortable lull settled in over the kitchen. Tomo attempted to look busy by putting away dry dishes.

"Uhh, well, maybe you could visit Kagura today? I think she's got Chiyo's present over at her place anyway. I bet she forgot to bring it last night," Tomo suggested, unnerved by the silence.

"That could be nice."

"Yeah, just give her a call after you clean up. She's always awake by this time, even on Saturday mornings. Umm and you probably don't know where she lives. I bet she'll just come get you. I'm going to stay here with Yomi and see if she wants me to get and cough medicine or somethin'. She gets pretty pathetic when she's sick."

"Yomi doesn't feel well?" Sakaki asked, concerned.

"Just a cold, I think. She's been a little under the weather all week. She fell asleep watching T.V.; it was still on around 5:30 when I got up to use the bathroom. So, she probably was up late, too. Has a hard time sleeping when she's all stuffed up like that. But really, nothing to worry about, I'm sure she'll be ok by tomorrow."

"If there's anything—" Sakaki started, feeling a burden for being over when Yomi wasn't well.

"No, no. You just have a good time with Kagura today and come back whenever. Hey, I'll give you one of the spare keys. Ummm, just don't lose it or Yomi'll freak and somehow it'll all get traced back to me, 'kay?"

Sakaki nodded in understanding as Tomo got a key out from one of the drawers in the kitchen.

"Here ya go," Tomo said, tossing her the small object, "Ah, tea's ready. Here, I'll get you a cup, ok?"

Murmuring in assent, she got up and took the filled cup from Tomo, softly thanking the other woman.

"Hope it tastes ok. I normally don't do this stuff. It's uhh Yomi's kitchen more or less."

Once again there was an awkward silence that hung in the air. Tomo waiting for Yomi's cup of tea to cool, Sakaki blowing lightly on her own watching the steam rise in wispy curls.

"Umm… if you want, I can give Kagura a call and let her know to come over. I had something I wanted to tell her anyway," Tomo said, unable to handle the pause in conversation.

"If… if you want to. That's fine with me," Sakaki replied, slightly confused.

"Well, great then! I'll go do that and you can hop in the shower," Tomo said, forgetting about the tea for Yomi and retreating to her room to look for her cell phone.

She slowly opened the door, a shaft of light landing on Yomi's face. The brunette opened one eye to look at her friend.

"Sorrysorry… just getting my phone. We're gonna give Kagura a call."

Tomo tiptoed over to her bed shuffling through the junk on her nightstand knocking a few things over in the process. Yomi's only response was to roll over and snuggle further into Tomo's pillow, pulling the comforter over her head. She would have questioned her roommate as to why she didn't just use the phone in the kitchen, but she knew it would come out as garble and she wasn't all that interested to begin with.

Finally finding her phone underneath her bed, but thankfully plugged in and charged, she scrolled through her phone book until she found Kagura's number. Softly shutting the door behind her, she looked towards the bathroom. The hallway light was off so she could easily see the bathroom light shining from the sliver of space underneath the shut door. A few moments later the water turned on.

Slinking over to the living room she ducked behind the side of one of the chairs and pressed the send button.

On the other line Kagura's voice greeted her.

"Yo. Come on over. Someone wants to see ya," Tomo said, smiling as Kagura babbled nervously.

"Yeah, I said you'd pick her up and show her your place. Yomi went back to bed 'cause she's got a killer cold and quite frankly, I dunno how the heck to talk to your Miss Sakaki. Don't get me wrong. I like the kid just fine, but she's just… not the best conversationalist. And since you're the one who has the hots for her, I figured it'd be better if you both go off and y'know… don't have a conversation… together. Or something."

Tomo removed the phone from her ear a bit as Kagura shouted at her.

"Huh? No! I'm not makin' _fun_ of anybody. Haha And no, actually, I wasn't really insinuating a make out session by that last comment, but now that you mention it… haha… So thaaaat's where Miss Kagura's mind is? In the gutter, eh?"

Giving Kagura a chance to defend herself, one eyebrow raised in amusement, she looked over the arm of the chair to make sure the hall was still empty.

"Well, just come over, OK?" Tomo continued into the receiver pausing to listen to Kagura's response, "Why am I whispering? Umm… well, I'm still in the apartment… but don't worry. Sakaki's in the shower and Yomi's asleep. See you in like twenty? OK. Sounds good. Later. Yeah, don't worry about it. Huh? Don't worry about that either. Just stay calm. Everything's going to be great, OK? Yeah. That's the spirit! Bye!"

Shutting her flip phone, she went back over to the kitchen remembering the tea she had left at the sound of Yomi's continual hacking, and seeing a box of tissue paper on the coffee table in the living room. Eyeing the empty wastebasket from the bathroom sitting on the kitchen floor she grabbed that, the cup of tea after making sure it was still decently warm, and went back to the living room to get the tissue paper.

She cautiously entered her room, quietly walking over to her bed. Yomi still had her back turned to the door and wasn't moving. Quietly placing the box of tissues on the table by her bed, she sat down cross-legged and waited, chin resting on her crossed arms, which she had placed over the comforter. After a few moments Yomi turned over, face only a hand's length from Tomo's own. Nose red, lips chapped, forehead furrowed in worry; her friend looked dismally adorable.

Yomi had thought she heard someone enter the room again, but after a few moments of silence, she returned her focus to finding the most efficient way to breathe. Turning over on her side, she was surprised to feel soft wisps of air brush against her face. Opening her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of a thoughtful looking Tomo.

"Hey," the shorter woman whispered, "I brought you some tea and some Kleenex. Oh, and the little garbage can so you don't leave your snot rags all over the place."

Yomi grimaced slightly at Tomo's word choice, which had successfully ruined the moment. Were she not feeling miserable, she would have taken the opportunity to whap her roommate on the head.

"So, I was just wondering if you needed anything. Sakaki's probably going to go visit Kagura, so it'll just be me and you for a while. If you wanted me to get any cold medicine, I can run to the store."

Looking at Tomo warily, she decided that she'd rather not be indebted to the wildcat and shook her head, feeling some of her hair fall in front of her face.

"Well, tough luck. I think I'm going to the store anyway so I'll get you something so you can get better faster. Besides, it'll be boring with just me here by myself."

Had she been in any mood to talk, she would have asked Tomo why the heck she didn't just go with Sakaki and Kagura. The way Kagura and Tomo had been getting along the past week or two actually kind of made it seem like her position as "best friend" (a term her more cynical mind didn't _really_ believe in) was being usurped. It hadn't bothered her all that much, it really hadn't, but still, it was somewhat difficult to think that perhaps sometime soon she'd become the third wheel. Not that she minded being alone or anything. She could very well take care of herself, but it would be odd to not have a constant companion in Tomo. But all those hypothetical wonderings were useless. Tomo was right there in front of her, insufferable grin and all.

In spite of her reassurances, she felt the need to say something. "I'll go oud with you guys dodighd. I jusd deed sobe sleep…" she murmured, shutting her eyes again.

Suddenly tired, she felt herself drift off to sleep, vaguely aware of a warm hand clearing the loose strands of hair from her face.

Author's Notes: The code for Yomi's dialogue when she's sick is "n" and "t" are replaced by "d" and "m" is replaced by "b". (by accident… this was included in Chapter 10 author's notes… ah well, I decided to split the two up… because it made things easier for me and I didn't have to come up with a transition).

I just don't see Sakaki and Tomo as having great conversation. But it's fun to mix the characters up. Yomi and Osaka together in a scene were also awkward.

I normally have done both sides of the phone conversation… but doing just one was somewhat entertaining.: )

Just for fun:

Calvin: "I believe history is a force. Its unalterable tide sweeps all people and institutions along its unrelenting path. Everything and everyone serves history's single purpose."

Hobbes: "And what is that purpose?"

Calvin: "Why, to produce _me_, of course! I'm the end result of history."

I see Tomo's logic working like that… (quote from Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson)

Thanks a ton for everyone who has reviewed. I really like hearing from you all. Much love for the repeat reviewers especially.: ) And the ones that send me messages in addition to the reviews. Haha It's always fun to see what you've got to say.: D And sorry… I might have sent uhh a double review reply to a person or two… I forgot who I had already written to before the holidays and who I hadn't. erk. Haven't really said it before, but it'd be great if y'all could leave some reviews for me to look forward to reading while I'm at horrible work.: p I'm sure the American public will _not_ be on its best behavior today.

Next chapter… I just have to figure how I'm going to work this out (final pairings are not set at the moment… so… if you'd like to try to convince me one way or another… feel free to send me a PM…) but maybe it'll be out when I go back to school. People visiting and whatnot.


	12. Chapter 12

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I do not own Azumanga Daioh.

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and shoujo-ai.

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

Warning for excessive sappiness…

Review replies (since I doubt any that I wrote actually reached people):

_LegendaryFro_: Thanks for the review. Glad you like!

_Uberlisk_: Glad the pace is working out. It honestly doesn't feel right to push it faster… probably why this and the next chapter were hard to write.

_LonelyArtist_: I adore Calvin & Hobbes and comics like Foxtrot and The Farside. So, that's probably why I really enjoyed Azumanga Daioh. Same kinda four panel idea.

_Hunter49a_: Good advice.; )

_TheSilverback_: Yomi's so stuffy. Well, now physically, too. Haha Bad (but honestly, unintentional) pun. She's got self-confidence issues, I think… while confidence is something Tomo has in spades.

_OtakuOtter_: Yes, most everything's been kind of small moments in this.

_Spontaneous Combusken_: Tomo's an idiot, but she means well. She's a bit manipulative and cheeky in this, but it's all in good humor. She just needs to know when to cut the crap before she really gets herself in trouble.

_TheTrueWolfBrother_: We shall see what happens next. Eheh… I've been going back and for between a couple different options. But yes, Tomo and Kagura are the only ones that know anything (quite the opposite of the norm). And invulnerable Tomo does rock. I'm endlessly entertained by her unflagging impertinence.

_Funakounasoul_: You can thank _tuxedodude_ and _TheSilverback_, I believe, for the fire alarm part. I wasn't going to do it because I felt it was over the top, not to mention pointless. But it worked out OK.; ) People seemed to like it and I didn't really dislike it.

_Kazlo_: Woo, thanks for the critique. Happily, I've been aware of it, but I'm glad someone pointed it out: I suck at writing Osaka. She's _extremely_ difficult for me to write. I had trouble thinking of the right angle to work with, though I've got a bit of a better idea now… which is sad since it's almost the end. This has always been a work in progress, and unfortunately, I don't do a whole lot of editing or mapping out of future chapters. But I wanted to include her. And well, as for your other complaint, I have a couple different responses to that, which… I guess I can answer after the next section (at the moment, we'll just blame it on me being a lazy bum). But wow, fanart! That's exciting.: D

Thank you all for the reviews!: ) Each and every one is greatly appreciated.

**Chapter 12**

She wasn't sure whether she was more angry, nervous, or relieved. One of her first reactions after hanging up with Tomo had been to have a strong desire to pummel the wildcat. She had been completely caught off guard by the call and was unable to think up any excuses. There had been an early morning practice, but that was over and even if she used that as an excuse, she figured Tomo would show up at her doorstep with Sakaki in tow anyway. It was at that point in her thought process that Tomo was all but forgotten. She was going to talk to Sakaki. They were going to hang out. Just the two of them. No one else.

Before she could think properly, she began considering giving Osaka a call. She didn't care if she woke the other girl up early on a Saturday; she was _desperate_. It was then that her train of thought came to a screeching halt. What was she _thinking_?

Tomo had given her a golden opportunity, albeit in a tricky, manipulative way. She had already thought about a variety of scenarios, but she realized she hadn't quite taken into account any of the other individuals beyond her and Sakaki. She of course realized that she was planning on doing this "confession", though she didn't like the term as it made it sound like she was admitting to having done something wrong, in a place where it could just be the two of them. Thinking beyond that though, she became petrified to the point of wanting to forget the whole thing and just move on with her life.

She could deal with Tomo giving her a hard time, she could even deal with being single, but honestly caring about Sakaki and settling for just the casual friend from high school without letting the other woman know made her think twice about giving up. Maybe they would see each other a few times a year, or go out for breakfast with the others when everyone was in town at the same time. Perhaps holidays they would get together and exchange gifts, one of the few times she might possibly be able to express her affection in an appropriate, if muted, manner.

She was approaching Tomo and Yomi's apartment building and the cold seemed to reflect the bleakness of her thoughts. No longer jittery with nervous excitement, she felt downtrodden.

Maybe if she had just a day longer to clear her mind. She'd had _plenty_ of time though. She could just imagine what Tomo would say to her indecisiveness. She'd ask her if she really did care, and if she did then _that's_ what she would have to focus on, not all the other garbage. That was just distractions and what was more worth the effort? Petty excuses that would be long forgotten a year from now?

Well, she was more alive than to just let herself fall prey to obsessive worry.

Without thinking too much about the consequence, she pressed the buzzer.

"Hallo?" a cheery voice chirped over the intercom, "Come on up, Ka-gu-ra!"

_Of course she would know that it's me._

Sucking in a deep breath, she opened the door at the buzz, tackling the steps at a steady pace. Once she finally got to their floor she saw that the door was already open, Tomo pushing a startled Sakaki out.

"Wouldn't want ya to catch a cold while you're here. That's highly contagious stuff, you know? You two have fun now!" Tomo winked at Kagura as she leaned out from behind Sakaki before giving her a thumbs up. Kagura smiled nervously in response.

They walked down the flights of stairs, Sakaki still in the process of buttoning her coat and putting on gloves, not having a chance before she had been nearly shoved out of the apartment. Kagura opened the door for her friend, Sakaki thanking her.

"Well, it's kind of chilly. We can walk back or there's a bus that's not too far," Kagura said, pleased that her voice didn't betray her barely contained excitement.

Sakaki seemed to consider the options for a moment before saying that a walk would be nice.

Kagura looked over at her happily. Ebony hair that was only slightly shorter than it had been in high school swayed as they walked. If she wasn't so happy, Kagura might have felt a little self-conscious of her own messy locks, but her mind was set and she was determined to give it her all and not let anything get in the way. At least she was dressed nice, not that one could really tell as her more athletic looking winter coat covered up everything. She had refrained from wearing the shoes she had purchased when out with Tomo, knowing that if her dark blue jeans and dressier than normal black top didn't alert Sakaki that something was different, black dress shoes with kitten heals certainly would.

Striking up a one-sided conversation, she began talking about some of the shops and café's they passed on the way. This place had excellent pastries while that place had great coffee for an even better price. Sakaki acknowledged that she was speaking every so often with slight nods of her head. They decided to stop at a European bakery on the way, Sakaki quietly explaining which items were which and even which countries some were associated with. Kagura bought some anpan while Sakaki ordered a palmier dipped in chocolate. Kagura paid for it all saying that it was only right since Sakaki was their guest. They walked to Kagura's dorm slowly, Sakaki a bit more talkative than before, slowly saying how she wished she could have visited Maya. She wanted to move back after she graduated so she could see him more often. Mr. Tadakichi was getting old, she had sadly explained to Kagura, seeming to lose her appetite at the thought.

Despite the somber mood that had settled over the two, Kagura had to stop herself from grinning. It was amazing how no one saw what a gentle soul Sakaki was. As dauntingly tall and athletically talented as the other woman was, she was nothing but mild and kind. Even if her immediate future only held rejection for her, Kagura began to think it was well worth taking the chance.

Feeling bittersweet all of a sudden, she took one glance at her companion before they both entered her building.

"Well, this is it," she breathed, unlocking her door and opening it once they arrived at her room.

"It's nice," Sakaki murmured appreciatively.

"Yeah, kinda small, but it works," Kagura said, feeling a bit disconnected.

Sakaki walked in, removing her black pea coat.

"Here, I'll take that and hang it up," Kagura offered, feeling an urgency to keep busy. Sakaki handed the wool jacket over, distracted by her assessment of Kagura's new home.

As Kagura was busying herself with the jacket, Sakaki looked around the room. There was a T.V. set and mini fridge underneath the lofted bed and next to that was a desk. She looked past the miscellaneous papers and post-it notes at some framed pictures, eyes focusing on one in particular. Picking up the frame she silently admired the photo.

"It's us… I remember taking this…" she trailed off.

"Oh… yeah, it was well, before stuff got kind of… crazy. I was gonna send you a copy, but…" Kagura quietly replied, feeling insecure again as she looked forlornly at the photograph.

Sakaki turned to look down at her, the frame cradled against her chest.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, gaze moving down as she said it.

Kagura tried to think of something to say that would segue into what she had been so determined earlier to discuss.

"For what?" she finally asked, voice hoarse, not quite sure where the question had come from, hoping it didn't sound insincere or bitter.

"I… if I hadn't come to visit so often…" Sakaki continued to look at her feet, not prepared to see Kagura's reaction, shaking her head slightly she continued her disjointed explanation as she tried to find the words, hoping for once she would find the right ones, "and then… I left you alone. I know you said I shouldn't come, but I abandoned you. I-I don't mean to hurt people, but I do…"

"I guess, when it comes down to it, we're all alone though… we did what we thought was right at the time," swallowing, Kagura lightly touched Sakaki's shoulder, hand sliding down the taller woman's arm in a caress, "Are you tired of being alone?" Kagura asked, looking straight at Sakaki, willing her to meet her gaze.

Kagura didn't have to wait long as Sakaki's head snapped up, eyes wide.

Sakaki saw that frank honesty shining Kagura's eyes even as the other woman looked back at her with gentle sadness.

"I'm not expecting anything from you and you don't have to give me the answer you think I want to hear…" Kagura explained, giving Sakaki an out if she wanted it. _Maybe I'm crazy for saying that, but… she's so kindhearted she'd probably lie just to make me feel better._

Once again the lone wolf silently averted her gaze, worriedly fixing her attention on the frame she held in her hands. Did she feel lonely? Yes, sometimes.

"I would've liked to do this a bit different," Kagura admitted, now sounding a bit defeated at Sakaki's lack of response, " Slower, I guess… but I'm hoping if you aren't too upset, we can still be friends. I didn't really have any close friends until I met you guys second year… I always just figured I was too busy with swim team, but then when we started hanging out on the weekends these past few years… I dunno, everybody wants that person who they know they can fall back on, y'know? That'll be there no matter what. And even if you weren't that person for me, I'm just happy I got to know you, Sakaki," Kagura finished, feeling a warm drop fall from her chin.

Her vision was clouded with tears. Helplessly she wondered when she lost control of her emotions. If things were going to end with rejection, she had wanted to remain calm. Instead, she stood there, eyes shut as the tears fell, her entire frame trembling as she fought to control herself. At least she would still have the good memories…

Sakaki would imagine many different things when she daydreamed during class and stared out the window, idly watching the clouds. Sometimes she would think of how nice it would be to have a cat of her own, now she did. Other times she thought it might be nice to have friends, noticing how casually the girls in the class would greet each other and even share secrets and gossip. She had friends now, too, the kind that were worth the extra effort. She thought she would be content with that. She never had the desire to emulate anyone like most of her high school peers tried to imitate her. She had never admired someone that much, not to mention it would feel to her like admiration without respect for that person's individuality. She did hold Kagura in high esteem though. Her honesty, earnestness, and even her laid back sense of humor. What she did, she did with great feeling. Sometimes her head wasn't always in it and she acted compulsively, but she would bounce back.

If she ended up being the one to break that wonderful, cheerful confidence, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. Having a bit of experience at being confessed to, she hoped she would be able to act in a more sympathetic manner this time around.

Looking over at Kagura, she saw that she had started crying. Touched by the athletic woman's show of emotions, she quietly turned to face her.

Once again Kagura had done the talking and she had stood there, seemingly unmoved. It was time to make amends. Tenderly she took in the shaking form of her friend before impulsively stopping a tear from falling with a soft brush of lips against Kagura's cheek.

Kagura tensed in her arms and for a moment she worried that perhaps she had misunderstood Kagura's intentions, after all, the other woman had not explicitly stated her feelings. Kagura pulled back to look up at Sakaki uncertainly, an apprehensive yet hopeful expression crossed her face. Sakaki answered by meeting Kagura's lips with her own.

After they reluctantly broke apart Sakaki saw that Kagura was still crying, but before she could comment the other woman pulled her into a tight hug, never wanting to let go.

llllllll

Later that night they all did go to sing karaoke. Kagura hadn't needed to say anything for Tomo to realize what had happened as all day she had been unable to keep herself from grinning broadly. Yomi had looked between herself, Tomo, and Sakaki over the scarf wrapped around her neck and lower half of her face before grumbling something about how she was out of the loop, adding that she didn't want to know, whatever it was they had done or were planning to do. Osaka pointed out that she seemed happy and that she was happy they were all happy. Kagura had just laughed, knowing it was true. For that moment as she stood walking next to Sakaki, surrounded by all her friends she couldn't imagine herself being any happier.

Author's Notes: I'd wanted this to happen without Kagura saying "I like you"… it sounds so juvenile, but I didn't think she was quite ready to say that she loved Sakaki, just that she wanted a chance.

This was ridiculously hard for me to write. I can't do overly sentimental too well. I am a cranky Yomi type person who is skeptical (but actually a romantic at heart and would love to be proven wrong).; 9 I had to listen to much sappy music to get in the mood for end part of this.

This is the shortest chapter, but probably due to the fact that it mainly focused on Sakaki and Kagura and no one else. And now tomorrow (in the storyline), Sakaki has a train ticket back to school.: p Life's just not fair, huh? Though Tomo will probably continue in her role as facilitator for one more day.

Ironically, I've accepted a job as a beta today… shortly after finishing writing this… huh… and I think the main pairing might be Sakaki and Kagura? This was all a total coincidence.

I said I was going to have Chapter 13 finished… but… instead, I wrote the epilogue and only started a tentative 13…

Anyway, hopefully this is somewhat satisfactory if not in the least bit steamy. It ain't my style to write it like that. haha 13 is kind of shaping up to be a partner chapter to this… more talking between Kagura and Sakaki, plus some Tomo.


	13. Chapter 13

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I do not own Azumanga Daioh.

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and shoujo-ai.

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

Starts off kinda happy, gets a bit melancholy, ends up silly. And yes, some fluff.: p

**Chapter 13**

Kagura was in that happy state. The kind where she tried to soak up every bit of information her senses were able to make out in order to form the closest thing to a perfect memory of the night that she was able to. She wasn't all that great at singing. Sakaki and Osaka stole the stage where that was concerned. Yomi had watched on, not participating due to the condition of her throat, and though she had smiled most of the time, it was obvious she probably should have just stayed in bed. Tomo and she were equally mediocre, but thankfully not tone deaf to the degree Yomi was.

Floating on cloud nine the majority of the night, she was surprised she noticed much beyond Sakaki who often would blush slightly at the attention. They were heading back and walked Osaka to her dormitory as it was well past her normal bedtime. She yawned sleepily before instructing them to call her before Sakaki left so they could all go to the train station. _Oh._

It was stupid, but she hadn't really put much thought into the fact that Sakaki was _leaving_. Granted, that's why she had clumsily hinted at her feelings earlier today instead of making a slow, subtle and what she felt was much safer process of it. Now that the trauma of losing Sakaki was over, there was the only slightly less upsetting realization of what different tracks their lives were currently taking.

She wasn't exactly sure of what Sakaki's plan for the future was, but it was a lot to ask either to move out by the other, at least where the immediate future was concerned. Kagura was already behind after transferring the first time. Anytime Sakaki's university had come up in conversation, the taller woman had talked fondly of it, though she herself had changed programs once. Before this she had always looked with derision on girls who felt lost without their boyfriends, calling them daily as if they were helpless on their own. She sighed quietly before smiling wryly. _Guess I'm not all that different._

She could call on the phone though, as long as she wasn't obsessive about it… and messengers on the computer, not that Kagura had her own laptop. E-mail, she could always e-mail Sakaki. Not that her life was all that eventful. But somehow she felt she could sit and tell Sakaki everything about her until well, forever. Sakaki had embraced and accepted one of the few things Kagura had for the longest time viewed as a tragic flaw in her person. And perhaps it wasn't the best decision, but at the same time she knew she was one of the only people who really knew the normally somber lone wolf. She would put as much, if not more effort into making this work, into making herself deserving of Sakaki's affections as she did with everything else. In that moment she felt that if this relationship could survive, all the trials and any possible contempt would be worth it. She wondered if Sakaki felt somewhat the same. Not that she doubted her. That wasn't it at all. She viewed Sakaki as a solid and trustworthy individual.

Irritatingly, insecurity still seemed to play a part in this post acceptance stage of the relationship. A gloved hand settled on her shoulder and she was startled out of her thoughts. Looking up she saw that Sakaki's expression appeared somewhat concerned. What a pair. Kagura who wore her emotions on her sleeve possibly more than Tomo and then Sakaki who had difficulties expressing even the most inconsequential of opinions. Though Kagura had seen Sakaki in her more determined states, a woman on a mission (even if her inspiration was something cute and cuddly).

Sakaki briefly looked over at her… her girlfriend? She felt excited and embarrassed by the use of the term even if it wasn't out loud. Kagura had been the one to verbally initiate her intentions, but it had been she who had physically responded. And if Kagura had been frightened at first, Sakaki felt absolutely terrified, wanting to retreat to herself. It hadn't been anything Kagura had done. Actually, she wasn't all that troubled by the… uniqueness of the situation. She had long ago come to realize that the conclusions others came to about a person were rarely accurate. The real her was a private person. She had never asked to be a celebrity in high school. What had shocked her was how fast she had been willing to give herself away. She was certain there would be at least some degree of compromise in their relationship, but it didn't change the fact that she was much more open to another person than she ever had been.

Gaze drawn back to Kagura at her side, she saw that the shorter woman looked just as doubtful as she herself felt. Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, she couldn't help but be drawn to this person. In all honesty, what Kagura had said earlier that day had struck a chord in her. She had wanted to deny it at first, knowing that she could keep herself busy and more often than not, social obligations had become a bother as she felt she didn't enjoy many of the same things her college peers did, but she had started to feel lonely at times. And to return to that empty room after such an uplifting weekend would send her straight back to that stagnation she had left behind not two days ago. Now though, there seemed to be hope for the future. It was something to look forward to, at least. With the Real World looming on the horizon, options seemed to be diminishing. Her parents were relatively financially stable, but the thought of going back to her room at home after graduation was becoming increasingly repellent yet neither did she have a plan that would easily support her aspirations from the past.

Somehow they had broken off into two groups. Yomi and Tomo continued on in front of them with Kagura and her lagging behind. Tomo had shot both of them a knowing grin numerous times over the course of the evening. She had yet to come to a conclusion as to whether it bothered her or not. Unconsciously her hand had slipped down to grip Kagura's at some point during the time her thoughts wandered and as Tomo in front of them turned to speak to the stragglers, her eyes were immediately drawn to the clasped fingers. Eyes dancing in approval, she winked at the two.

"Hey, how about we just head back to the apartment? Figure you two could use some more catch up time," at this point the impertinent wildcat waggled her eyebrows a bit, grinning impishly before continuing, "Yomi's feeling crummy so I figure it'd be good to head straight back home instead of detouring over to Kagura's place, y'know?"

Yomi hoarsely began to interrupt her roommate, about to say that she was fine before she broke out in a coughing fit.

"See? Let's just go back. Unless Sakaki wants to walk Kagura back to her place and stay there?" Tomo intoned mock seriously. By her facial expression it was obvious what she was hinting at.

"Ah… there's no place to sleep. I just have my loft… there's not even really enough floor space or blankets," Kagura murmured worriedly. As much as she would like to spend some time alone with Sakaki, her room wasn't really equipped to house any guests.

Tomo stopped mid-stride before erupting in a bout of laughter. Yomi looked over at her friend, shooting her a withering glace as if to demand they continue on their way.

As usual, the wildcat disregarded her roommate's show of disdain before stumbling over to Kagura and leaning to whisper something in her ear.

"Eh?!? That's not what I was saying at _all_!" Kagura looked over at Sakaki to see if the taller woman had interpreted her comment about only having one bed to sleep in the same way Tomo had. If the sudden rise in temperature Kagura felt were any indicator of how red she was, she knew she must've suddenly gone the color of a tomato.

Tomo was still snickering when she went back to stand next to Yomi, hooking arms with her.

"To the apartment then!" she shouted, startling some of the other people walking by.

"_Thank_ you," Yomi croaked, missing most of the allusions of the conversation due to how her head was throbbing. Sliding the one arm free from Tomo's grasp, she wrapped her arms around herself, more than ready to be back in the warm apartment.

She waited for Tomo to continue onward, happy they weren't making another stop before the apartment. It was only a cold, but being outside wasn't helping things. Tomorrow she was staying in and doing homework all day, probably while in bed or on the couch no matter how both locations weren't ideal where productivity was concerned. The last thing she needed was to be sick all week. She had plenty of other concerns to take care of. Tonight she had the distinct feeling that she was missing out on a lot of the goings on, but having felt so disconnected most of the day anyway, she didn't care all that much. Later, she'd deal with it all later, she thought before weakly pulling off a glove so she could find the packet of tissues in her pocket.

Winter was a miserable time of the year.

Tomo latched onto Yomi's arm again, continuing to usher her half-dead roommate in the right directions. She had taken it upon herself to guide her friend after Yomi had nearly collided with a light post after leaving the karaoke bar, paying more attention to trying to stay warm than to where she was walking.

Tomo started loudly singing one of the karaoke songs someone had chosen earlier than night. Yomi and Kagura's immediate reaction was to boo her.

"_Tomo!_"

"Hey now! It's too late for that nonsense!"

"Aw, you're just jealous of my skills!" Tomo turned around to face Kagura, blowing her a raspberry.

"Yeah, maybe if I were tone deaf," Kagura griped before smiling slightly, "Sorry Yomi!"

"Ohhh," Tomo crowed, "Lay off the patient, kiddo, 'sides, it's _my_ job to give Yomi grief."

"Careful," Yomi looked over to Tomo, smiling despite herself, "what goes around, comes around."

"I told her the same thing!" Kagura chuckled, "Well, it was a little different, but basically the same."

Sakaki followed the conversation silently, smiling contently at how the mood had lightened.

"What's up, Miiiiss Saaakaki!" Tomo called behind her, "Just because you're quiet back there doesn't mean you are free from any teasing! If the sick person gets mocked then we're all fair game here!"

"Umm," Sakaki unsuccessfully attempted to come up with a response.

"She doesn't have to answer to you, Bonkura!"

"Who's calling who a Bonkura, Bonkura?"

"We need Ayumu here to get the full effect…"

"Yeah, it'd better with her."

"Hmmm…"

"What were we talking about?"

"Beats the hell outta me."

"Fair enough."

Kagura continued to banter with Tomo, thus keeping the wildcat from harassing either the ill or the reserved members of their party.

When they got back to the apartment Yomi had looked around worriedly, realizing that there were four of them and only two beds and a couch. The three others in the apartment had all insisted she just go to sleep in her own bed and that they would figure out the rest. Sakaki had quickly grabbed some pajamas before Yomi retired for the night.

Tomo teased the pair for a few minutes before retreating to her own room. Only to open the door several seconds later with the admonition "Behave, you two!"

"Oh, and before I forget, here's some stuff to sleep in. Hopefully your chest ain't too big to fit in one of my shirts."

Tomo whipped a shirt and pajama pants in Kagura's direction, hitting the scandalized girl in the face. _Bull's-eye._ Kagura numbly let the outfit fall into her lap. By the time she regained her voice Tomo had already left them.

Sakaki raised an eyebrow, silently questioning.

Kagura fidgeted from her position on the couch.

"Well, y'see, I was talkin' to Tomo… it all just sorta… happened… and I know she's crazy, but she's really helped me out, believe it or not. And Osaka… ummm Ayumu and Yomi, too. Just by being there even if they didn't know what exactly was going on."

Sakaki suddenly felt bad again for allowing Kagura to push her away when the other girl was hurting the most. She attempted to will herself into that same boldness she had somehow summoned earlier, but felt her limbs freeze, doubts winning against concern for her companion.

Kagura continued in hushed tones, breaking the silence of the apartment. The only other sounds were the soft hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen and the tick of a nearby clock. Noises from the city outside were seldom and muffled.

"But I'm really happy now. I don't know how to say any of this without it sounding like the same old worn out stuff. Hell, I don't even know what half that is. Guess I was never one for sappy romances. But I wanted to thank you. Y'know… in a lot of ways you're still the same quiet person. Did you know when I first tried to talk to you, I thought maybe you either wanted nothing to do with me or that you really were trying to keep up that too cool reputation of yours?"

"I never quite understood that," Sakaki sighed softly, thinking back to bygone days.

"Yeah, me neither. I always thought it was funny how you practically had your own unofficial fan club. And wondered maybe if you were vain or if you really were as great as they all said. Neither, I'm thinking. That's not to say you aren't amazing or anything… just… not the same way."

"I'm happy you kept at it," Sakaki murmured before sharing a smile with Kagura. There was so much more to say but perhaps that would be enough for now.

Encouraged by the rare warmth in her companion's voice, Kagura tenderly placed her hand over Sakaki's.

She had the urge earlier that afternoon to gush over the cuteness of tall, awkward Sakaki who had apologized after their kiss, explaining that she hadn't much by way of experience. The endearing simplicity that almost approached naiveté went directly against Sakaki's "image".

"You're adorable, you know that?" Kagura spoke softly as she leaned in and captured Sakaki's lips, feeling her girlfriend tremble slightly as one hand was placed on a shoulder. The taller woman had to incline her head slightly, Kagura shifting most of her weight onto one arm pressed into the back of the couch they were sitting on. It was actually a rather awkward position. Still very aware that they were in Tomo and Yomi's apartment, however, and not wanting to push things forward only to have Sakaki leave tomorrow with regrets, she reluctantly pulled away, eyes still closed. She released a happy sigh, not caring that Sakaki was there to see her so smitten. Melting into Sakaki's side, she was content to rest against the other woman who had leaned down to place a cheek on Kagura's head. The raven-haired woman took up Kagura's free hand so once again their fingers were intertwined, wordlessly showing her affection. Sakaki flushed at the realization that Kagura had more or less said she was _cute_. Of all things!

They sat there silently, enjoying the others' company and the warm embrace. Sakaki's rhythmic breathing had a calming effect on Kagura, whereas Sakaki felt revived by the simple knowledge that there was someone who cared about her curled up against her side. It for once didn't seem like misplaced affection or envy, but true interest and fondness built on a foundation of trust. Kagura's free hand had come to rest on Sakaki's side, just above her hip, their arms crossing. After an indefinite amount of time, they slowly broke apart, each picking up the nightwear before taking turns changing in the hall bathroom.

Shy once again, they both fumbled through discussing sleeping arrangements before deciding to just share the couch.

Several hours later, Yomi slowly emerged from her room wearing her glasses. Dressed in flannel pajama bottoms and top, slippers, and a gray bathrobe, she shuffled over to the kitchen.

A sight in the living room caught her eye as she blearily looked over at the two forms cuddled up together on the couch. Slowly removing her glasses, she peered down at the lenses before placing them back on her face.

There Kagura was with her arm around Sakaki's waist, head tucked under the taller woman's chin. Standing there for a moment, slightly confused in her half awake state, she watched as Kagura murmured sleepily, before opening her own eyes to see the dazed figure of Yomi standing behind the couch.

Throwing herself out of Sakaki's embrace, she fell back into the coffee table before landing on the floor, legs still propped up on the couch. Sakaki shot up at the noise, looking around her, shaken.

"Ah… don't mind me… I just came to get some water… and the couch unfolds. I guess Tomo didn't tell you that…" Yomi spoke in a low uneven voice.

Making her way to the kitchen, she filled up a glass before hiding herself in her room.

By the time Yomi was gone, Kagura had untangled herself from the blanket she and Sakaki had shared, blushing sheepishly. Sakaki looked a little stunned herself.

"What's all the ruckus?"

Both Kagura and Sakaki jumped a bit at the unexpected voice.

"T-Tomo!" Kagura exclaimed.

"Good mooorning, children!" Tomo spoke loudly before swinging an arm around each of their necks and pulling them close, "Did everyone sleep well? Hehe"

"Uhh, yeah," Kagura answered, though the couch had been a bit small for two people and she was sure she'd feel a bit sore later.

Sakaki just nodded, self-consciously looking at her hands in her lap.

"Well, you guys get ready and we'll head to the station. It's already 10:00, you know."

"What?! How did I sleep in that late?" Kagura jumped up, searching for the clock on the wall, "Oh man, I can't even remember the last time I slept this late."

Sakaki gracefully stood, looking between Kagura and Tomo, her expression once again unreadable.

"I suppose I should get my things together," she remarked quietly.

"Oh, I'll get 'em out of Yomi's room. I think she already put everything by the door. We just stuffed all the presents for Chiyo in a bag," Tomo said, being surprisingly helpful.

Sakaki nodded and murmured her understanding.

Several hours later they were at the train station looking at screens that listed the tracks and departure times, one column showing which trains were boarding.

"Shit! I mean, shoot!" Kagura exclaimed before looking a bit guiltily over at Sakaki who never seemed to swear, "Sorry, it's just that we forgot to call Ayumu. Dang it. Now I feel awful." _Not that I _wasn't_ feeling shitty… err… crappy! Not that I wasn't feeling crappy _before.

"No worries. She's probably still in Dreamland snoozing her weekend away," Tomo consoled her friend, "Besides, it's too late now."

Kagura sighed brushing a hand through her hair in a nervous gesture, "Guess you're right…"

"'Course I am!" Tomo beamed, "Ah! Looks like Track 4 is starting to board. That's your train, right?"

Sakaki nodded.

"Ah well, before you go, I was gonna grab a card for you to give to Chiyo. I'll be right back!"

Tomo disappeared behind one of the station directories heading towards a souvenir shop.

"Well, guess this is it," Kagura spoke numbly.

"I-I'll try to come again soon. And you know you're always welcome out by me."

Kagura looked up at Sakaki, brown eyes meeting dark, almost black ones.

"Yeah… Yeah, that's right! I mean, we aren't _that_ far apart, right?"

Sakaki nodded compassionately and before she could change her mind, she leaned forward to give Kagura a chaste kiss on the cheek before embracing her.

"Thank you for a wonderful weekend. I'll call when I get back and settled."

"Yeah," Kagura's voice quavered in response, "Well, you better get going." _Before I embarrass the both of us._

"Hey, bye Sakaki! Thanks for hangin' out. It was fun. Oh, and here's the card," Tomo cheerfully explained, a striking difference in attitude from the other two members of the group.

Sakaki inclined her head in acknowledgement before taking the card. She didn't quite trust her own voice at the moment. Giving one last look at Kagura, she smiled softly at the other woman before turning around to head to the platform.

"'Parting is such sweet sorrow'," Tomo recited dramatically.

"I… I knew she had to go back… but…" Kagura sniffled inelegantly.

"Hey, she said she'd give you a call," Tomo patted her friend's arm lightly.

"You were listening?"

"Uhh… no."

Kagura sighed, brushing through her short hair, "This weekend… I don't know… it was the greatest but most confusing couple of days ever."

"Sooo… how did _yesterday_ go?"

"Umm… well, at first it was agonizing and then better and err then _much_ better…" Kagura trailed off into a goofy grin.

"What'd you do? Flowers? Chocolate? A dramatic proposal complete with a serenade as she looked down at you from a balcony?"

"Uhhh it wasn't quite-"

"I can just see it now! Kagura rides up on her motorcycle wearing a leather jacket, dramatic music playing in the background and Sakaki, wearing a pink summer dress with the ribbons in her hair fluttering in the sea breeze! She's blown away by our heroine's smashingly good looks. Before, Kagura was a rebel without a cause, but now she has something… no! Some_one_ worth fighting for. Kagura sweeps Sakaki off her feet and they ride off together… _The_ End," Tomo finished, looking off into the distance.

"…wasn't that the end to some T.V. drama?"

"No, I think there was something like that in a shoujo manga. Not that I read that garbage. Oh, and it'd happen around sunset, for dramatic effect. Maybe by a cliff overlooking the ocean."

"Uh… huh… well, I can assure you that it didn't happen like that. And hey! Why am I the guy? Sakaki's taller… I mean, not that anybody has to be the guy."

"Uhhh you're athletic. Thus, you are the guy. And I gave you a leather jacket, right?"

"I fail to see how that solves anything…"

"Fine. Kagura, now wearing a windbreaker and icky, several year old sweatpants, rides up on her bicycle, complete with basket and bell- _ding ding!_-"

"Mountain bike. I'm female, but that doesn't mean I'm five years old and hey, girls can ride motorcycles, too."

"_Fine_. Kagura, rides up on her mountain bike, _sans_ dramatic music, and goes up to Sakaki and is like 'Pardon me, Miss, I seem to have lost my phone number, can I borrow yours? Why, yes I can? And you think I look ruggedly gorgeous? Well, there's not really room for two on this, but I was wondering if you would like to walk to that restaurant over there for an unromantic dinner. And since I was all lame and decided we needed a _practical_ storyline, we're no longer by the seaside at sunset, we're in the city and it's in the middle of winter. Sorry about that, babe. But whaddya say?'"

"This is stupid."

"I never said it wasn't. Oh oh! How about 'Do you have a map? 'Cause I just keep getting _lost_ in your eyes.' That would've been a good line."

"Whatever, I'm going home."

"But seriously, Kagura, you guys are sweet," Tomo commented trotting behind her friend to catch up before rolling her eyes," Enough to give me a toothache even."

"Uhh, thanks," Kagura blushed self-consciously, quickly going from annoyed to bashful.

"Seeee? So _cuuute_!" Tomo exclaimed, clasping her hands and dancing around her flustered companion.

"Hey, enough of that! And what about _you_? Doesn't seem like you've done a whole lot on your end, big talker."

"Hoho! I've got my own brilliant plan. It will be executed early this week. Possibly as early as tomorrow," Tomo explained, looking over at Kagura smugly, happily lying through her teeth.

"Well, best of luck. Let me know how it goes. Oh, and uhh thanks for everything you did to help _me_ out… even if some of it was underhanded."

"Eh? Underhanded? _Me?!_ Never!" Tomo laughed, slapping Kagura on the back. The two walked out of the train station, Tomo successfully cheering Kagura up.

llllllll

Author's Notes: "It's Magic" is on hiatus until I write more of it… I've written only two pages this past week… granted, it was two pages of Yukari, but it was only two pages. I think I'm going to write a bunch of it so I have a little more control over what direction it's going in instead of doing the weekly update thing. And I'm deciding on what balance to use… more serious… just plain silly… somewhere in between. That or… After I finish this I'll ride off into the sunset and be done with fanfiction. So, it's possible that "It's Magic" is err on indefinite hiatus.

This… for a variety of reasons, has fluctuated in intent and direction. But thanks for the reviews. They help. It was started in the first place for the hell of it and err I didn't think it was going to be some 200 page monstrosity (it hasn't hit that page count yet, but I'm pretty sure it'll be around that length by the end). At the moment, at least, the epilogue seems to bring the thing full circle and straight back to the style of the beginning. Back to the everyday, mundane silliness that makes these characters so lovable.

Special thanks though to TheSilverback, Funakounasoul, and SpontaneousCombusken. Whether it was something you wrote or the review itself, I was able to get back into this and finish the chapter.

It's also doubtful that Tomo knows any Shakespeare… but perhaps she thinks she came up with the line all by herself, her being a (self-proclaimed) genius and all that. ("Parting is such sweet sorrow" is from Romeo and Juliet… the parting is sad, but sweet because they will see each other again… I prefer The Comedy of Errors… Romeo and Juliet seems more like courtly love… which is usually more along the lines of courtly lust… I don't care… potions as plot devices just fail to convince the 21st century reader… though if I continue It's Magic… I plan on using them)

Tomo+bad pick up lineshilarious in my book…

"Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?"

She's the kind of idiot who would have no qualms over using them… just to see how people would react. Not to mention that she thinks she's too sexy (for her shirt, too sexy for her shirt… this is why I should be banned from author's notes altogether… no more Right Said Fred lyrics…).

And again, I realize Kagura and Sakaki aren't first names… but I'm using them in a first name kinda way… I'm not coming up with names for them. Tough cookies if it bugs you.

Unfortunately, I've failed to convince myself of Kagura and Sakaki, but they're still in the foundation stages. And a lot depends on allusions to the parts that I didn't write. Unfortunately, I will not be doing a side story to cover all that and I wanted to avoid flashbacks to events a year or more prior.: p Though I did that with Tomo and Yomi…

Next chapter we'll experiment and see which is the bigger sin: melodrama or anticlimax?; 9 At the moment I lack that subtle in between line, I think. Woe. ;;


	14. Chapter 14

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I do not own Azumanga Daioh.

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and shoujo-ai.

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

Everyone has a crappy week this chapter.

**Chapter 14**

Tomo was in class and a bit deflated. _Some_ individual had decided to say something about her not being in class last week, which apparently the professor hadn't noticed even though the rest of the students had.

_Kissass…_

Tomo's absence had been increasingly conspicuous as class went on. She normally would arrive "fashionably late" in a cheerfully disruptive manner making a proclamation about the weather or something she encountered en route to class and whether or not she had done the assignment. Surprisingly, she was often able to dig herself out of most debates as she always had something to say. Whether that something was either sound or valid was another matter entirely, but for a discussion based class, Tomo held her own.

Half the class thought she was a real trip and were entertained by her generally completely unfounded argumentation, the other half seemed to take it personally that Tomo Takino was making a mockery of the curriculum. The aging professor was more often than not oblivious to the social interactions of his students.

_Really though, it's all in good fun._

She wasn't one to cry if she got shot down when people were under the strange delusion that she was wrong about some trivial factual data and she certainly was used to her declarations being followed with stunned silence.

_I just seem to blow people away._

But this week she wasn't in the mood to deal with and ignore pressure from others. She already felt like she couldn't talk normally with Yomi. At the moment, Kagura was the only person she was on confidante terms with. Not that her competitive nature was going to even hint that she wasn't quite as prepared to say something to Yomi as she had been suggesting all along. Not to Kagura. She was much better at telling _others _the "get your act together" motivational speech than at congratulating someone who had accomplished a feat she wasn't even close to pulling off. As she rested her chin on her palm and stared right past the professor at the wall, she bitterly went over some of these thoughts. Besides, today she had been early to class for once. That should make up for _something_.

llllllll

Yomi was sitting across from Osaka at a cafeteria. Kagura had some things to take care of and who knew where the strangely elusive wildcat Tomo was. It was the beginning of the school week and Tomo had mysteriously left early that morning before Yomi got up.

Yomi looked at her noodles, discouraged.

"Ayumu..." she murmured.

"Eh?" Osaka slowly looked up from her plate.

"I'm going to go look at the desserts. You want anything?"

"I'll go with ya," the shorter woman said, getting up slightly after Yomi stood.

Making their way back to the food, they looked at their options.

"You ever get those days… you know, where you just feel… kind of… weighed down?"

"Ah, ya mean ya feel kinda fat?"

"E-eh…? N-not exactly."

Though Yomi indeed still had those moments of deep insecurity where her thighs felt out of proportion with her waist. Or her arms seemed flabbier than several days before and it probably was her fault for getting an extra helping or eating that entire bag of chips while she was reading for English and maybe she should do an bit of a workout before she went to bed as long as Tomo wasn't there to tease her.

Suddenly no longer interested in dessert, she looked back at Osaka confused.

"Wait a second. You have fat days, too?"

"Uhh… not really. Some days I feel kinda disconnected… like I'm floatin' or somethin', but that's about when I wake up."

_Figures. Twig people don't have that problem. Of course, Osaka has her own… unique… issues to deal with._

"… wake… up?" Yomi murmured.

Osaka continued to explain how she had nightmares sometimes about flying. How they were nightmares, Yomi didn't quite understand. It had something to do with Chiyo. That part she understood even less. _Oh well, I suppose this is distracting enough…_

lllllllll

Kagura briefly looked over at her friend who was moving in the same direction as her cart on the screen in hopes of increasing her control of the situation. When she got back to her room earlier, there was Tomo, sitting outside as if she was some stray animal. She wasn't _unhappy_ to see Tomo stop by, but having her randomly show up at her door and spend who knows how much time waiting for her to get out of practice… was a bit strange.

Tomo, oblivious to Kagura's thoughts, stood up and leaned to the right in a futile attempt to get her cart to turn further to the side so she didn't end up going over the edge. Unfortunately her effort was a bit overzealous as the small cart flew off the opposite side of the rickety bridge into the dark abyss.

"Nooo! Augh! Faster faster!" the wildcat yelled at the screen, urging her go-cart to be placed back on the track.

"haha I'm gonna lap you again! And get outta the way of the T.V.!"

"This is stupid. I'm too old for video games."

"You're the one who said 'Hey! Let's play some video games!' and 'Talk is cheap! Talk is for chumps!'"

"Yeah, well, I forgot that _someone_ gets in regular practice on these things. Let's play on a team next time."

"Whatever. You're just a sore loser. And it's not like I have time any more to play."

"Yeah? I'll show you sore loser!" Tomo leaned over the system and pressed the reset button just before Kagura was about to pass the finish line.

"Hey!! That could've been a record!!"

"Not anymore. Heheh"

"You're a pain in the neck, you know that?"

"I prefer to think of myself as something more like a motivator. I'm helping break you of this video game habit. You _could_ be outside enjoying the gorgeous weather we're having or maybe getting a little bit of exercise, hmmm?"

"Tomo, I have practice most days of the week plus weight lifting and dry land practice on my own in addition to that. I think I'm more than physically fit enough. Plus, it's freezing rain out. Supposed to be like that all week. That's far from gorgeous weather. And the only times I've played video games this semester have been when _you're_ over."

"Ok. I'm not gonna lie. I'm _actually_ a professional bullshitter," Tomo said as if she was divulging a secret, "It's a position with a longstanding and venerable history."

"I'm not _even_ going to comment."

"I know, Yomi was a little overwhelmed, too when I told her. So, I'm not at all surprised that someone like yourself, a person with a very small brain capacity, short attention span, a dumb jock-"

"Tomo…" Kagura warned.

"It's alright Kagura. I don't feel as though my hanging around with you will ruin my rep. I'm above such petty attitudes as that," Tomo pronounced, nodding sagely.

"Well, if anything, your 'rep' will improve by having other people around to distract anyone from seeing what a dumbass you are," Kagura grumbled.

"Hey, now. Sakaki would be ashamed of such mean-spirited comments."

"Where you're concerned, I'm sure most people would understand."

"Speakin' of Sakaki, how's the old battle axe doing?"

"I'll ignore some of what you just said, but uhh fine. Err… so, she called me when she got back Sunday. But today would be too soon to call her, right?"

Kagura wanted a second opinion on things. Tomo was the only option available at the moment. She supposed she could go talk with Osaka, but either way, the advice she would receive in both cases probably wouldn't be ideal, Tomo, because she was full of it and Osaka because she was well, Osaka, though she had somehow seemed a bit more alert lately.

"I dunno. What'd you guys say at the end of the conversation?" Tomo asked as she shrugged, becoming a bit disinterested. It was much more fun to speculate on the possible relationship than to listen to Kagura worry needlessly over her happily ever after. _How the heck would I know if she should call? Hell, I'd just call if I felt like calling, but Kagura's so friggin' wishy-washy…_

"Well, I didn't tell her to call me or anything. I mean, maybe… I could e-mail her?"

"What? Why? It's not like you check your e-mail any more than I do… which I check mine just about never. I still got e-mail from before Christmas I haven't opened," Tomo stated happily.

"She's got a computer, I think though. I dunno. I mean, I don't wanna call and it be at a bad time or anything."

"Bad time? Kagura, m'dear, Sakaki _accepted_ you. _Sakaki_. If Osaka's mind is on another planet, Sakaki's is at the very least up in the clouds. Not to mention she was a hot number in high school. But she, at least for one weekend, was actually… I dunno, attentive or something. _She_ accepted _you_. Right now, I'm sure she's a lot more interested in you than whatever else is going on in her life. She's probably doodling crappy pictures of you and her with hearts all around it in her notebook," _Man, that's so high school… heheh, _"instead of paying attention during class. Or staring out the window and sighing forlornly just wishing you were there."

Kagura blushed a bit despite herself. "Well, what I was going to say… I mean…" she fumbled for a response.

Tomo looked at her friend meaningfully before patting her on the back.

"Oh, Kagura. You know nothing about women. I, however, being a mature woman myself," Tomo explained as she pointed to her head and winked, "have an insight into the female mind."

"You were right. You _are_ a professional bullshitter. I'd say the majority of what comes out of your mouth you pull out of nowhere or it's garbage you've got stored up in that head of yours. Complete word vomit."

"Why thank you," Tomo grinned.

"I don't gotta say it, but that definitely wasn't a compliment. And whatever you decide to tell Yomi, because I know you haven't talked to her otherwise you wouldn't be here playing video games with me, please don't try to pull the same crap you do with me. She'll skewer you and roast you alive."

"With an apple in my mouth?"

"Anything to gag that trap of yours."

"Yeah, yeah, I get the idea. Haha I'll just leave you here then to pine after your love. Don't languish too much though. And geez, Kagura, just suck it up and give her a call if you really want to."

Grabbing her coat and things Tomo left Kagura's room, almost skipping out the door.

_Tomo, what're we gonna do with you?_

After closing the door, she picked up her phone before looking at it uncertainly.

llllllll

Sakaki was in her room thinking. The topic was slightly more serious than normal.

There was something about this "relationship" idea that was enticing in that it could mean there was someone out there that was willing to cherish and support her. Then there was the other side that reminded her that it also meant an almost submission of her will to something outside herself and her own specific interests. She was a bit torn.

It wasn't as though she had any sort of deep attachment to her "lone wolf" persona. That became painfully clear when she had scrambled in an undignified manner to get to her cell phone, a sharp burst of excitement in her chest upon realizing it was Kagura that was calling.

She had calmed herself enough to answer in her normal soft voice to hear Kagura greet her, the other woman's tone one of nervous excitement, stuttering out apologies before the conversation even began. It always made Sakaki feel better when she realized Kagura was just as vulnerable as she was and that they were on the same page where that was concerned as she felt Kagura also took some comfort from the fact.

She was adept at finding things to keep busy. It had become a necessity for her over the years, as she was horrible at expressing herself. Still a member of the "go home club" as Kagura had jokingly put it, she had thought about joining clubs, but never quite brought herself to actually go through with signing up. And then she had started spending time with Kagura most weekends and that was just as good as any club. After awhile she was able to appreciate what Kagura would talk about and Kagura had started to prod her into talking about herself. They were very different, but she found she would look forward to spending time with Kagura to the point where the rest of the week paled in comparison.

When they had stopped seeing each other, for one of the first times in her memory she cried over a person. And then had done nothing. It had been Kagura who had asked her to not come anymore. She would respect Kagura's decision and say no more. She thought about it often despite wanting to just pretend nothing had ever happened. In those many silent moments by herself, estranged from all other social interaction she began to regret what she realized probably seemed like cool indifference. It wasn't healthy, she knew… but it was much easier to live in her constructed little fantasy world that had no foundation in real life. Things had gotten even worse when she changed her career track. At least she could e-mail Chiyo. Calling made her nervous, but e-mail was safe and neutral. She still had received cordial e-mails from Yomi every once in awhile. Never anything very drawn out or even all that informative as far as any details went. But she appreciated it. Through Yomi she would get bits and pieces of how the others were doing. Tomo nearly destroyed the kitchen in an incident involving the microwave. Thank all that is good in the world for fire alarms. Osaka had managed to pass her classes. She also seemed to retain the information. It was all very impressive. Kagura only made it into one or two e-mails. But Chiyo was enough of a motivation to get Sakaki to ask if she could stay at Tomo and Yomi's. She didn't have the nerve to try to contact Kagura. Perhaps it would have been a good idea. If she had anyone to ask for advice, she would. She sometimes wished she could ask Chiyo to play the part of the mentor.

Chiyo… She wasn't sure whether or not to tell Chiyo and was absolutely clueless how to tell her if she did decide to talk to her younger friend. Chiyo knew Kagura. Chiyo got along with Kagura. Kagura was another girl. Chiyo knew this, too. Would this pose a problem?

Of the group, Chiyo tended to be a bit more conservative in attitude… similar to Yomi. The showy ones tended to be Kagura and Tomo and to a lesser extent, Osaka (though she didn't always do it on purpose). She would wait to ask Kagura and then decide later. This was all so new and would take time for her personally to adjust.

llllllll

Climbing up the steps she felt her insides twinge a bit. _As if Kagura knows _anything. She stopped midway up one flight of stairs to lean against a wall.

_Stupidstupidstupid._

She could still stand by and just let things happen, her proposed plan of "not having a plan"… it sounded like a damn fine idea several days ago, but with Yomi as dense as she was, they'd be old, and still bickering probably, before anything would be done about it.

And it wasn't like Yomi was at all like Sakaki. Sakaki was… different. She didn't dislike her or anything, but somehow she was a little disconcerting. Not really scary or intimidating, for the wildcat did not get intimidated, but she was glad Kagura seemed to understand her a bit. Must've been from their time spent during the first couple years after high school. _Well, to each her own or whatever._

Hefting her bag higher onto her shoulders, she made it up the final steps sucking in a deep breath as she opened the door so she could shout out the customary greeting.

"I'm home!" Tomo called, knowing that Yomi was there because the lights were on and her roommate's coat and shoes were by the door.

Tossing on her slippers, she heard Yomi's reply from the kitchen.

"Where were you?" Yomi asked from behind her paper. She hadn't had a chance to read it during the day and decided to get it out as her normal dinner company was missing.

"Uhh… Kagura's," Tomo answered truthfully, feeling a bit antagonized by the tone of the question.

"Ah. Well, your dinner's in the fridge. I tried calling your phone, but as usual, you didn't pick up."

"Oh, well… sorry, I guess. I'll try to keep it with me more or something."

"Hmm," Yomi grumbled, sounding doubtful.

"So… how was your day?" Tomo said, trying to cut through the uncomfortable silence.

"Fine," Yomi replied, sipping her tea.

"That's good."

Yomi murmured in the affirmative, not sounding particularly interested in continuing the conversation. Not bothering to reheat her meal, Tomo sat down across from Yomi and began to slowly eat her food. The hush of the apartment was only broken by the turn of a page or clink of a chopstick against a bowl.

Tomo looked over at Yomi who was sitting there engrossed in reading her newspaper. She poked at her food despondently in hopes of getting her companion's attention. Maybe if sighed loud enough. Huffing uncharacteristically she threw herself back into her chair.

"If something's wrong, just say it," Yomi stated calmly, eyes still following print.

She was kind of hoping Yomi would just figure it out on her own. But no such luck, which actually wasn't all that surprising considering Yomi was emotionally stunted and only proficient at expressing annoyance, disdain, and every once in awhile mild contentment. _Damn, I'm _stupid

Not thinking of an answer and for once not in the mood to come up with something outrageous to proclaim, she silently got up and took her things over to the sink. Looking back, she saw Yomi's bowl was empty so she grabbed her things also before placing them next to her own discarded dishware and utensils. Dumping out the uneaten food she flicked on the hot water.

A newspaper page was slowly turned, the rustle of pages not quite drowned out by the noise from the sink.

_Just keep reading. So oblivious, aren't you? _

Gripping the edge of the sink, the steady sound of running water in the background, she stared unseeing as the bowls overflowed with soapy water.

_Hardly fair to test someone and expect results when they're clueless, I guess. _

Of course, she only wanted a positive response from Yomi and a negative one could go horribly wrong in so many troubling ways. Tomo lived for the perilous fight though. _All's fair in love and war._

She jumped slightly when she felt Yomi's presence directly to her side. Her best friend, roommate, and (unknown to Yomi) significant other had one eyebrow quirked in question before silently picking up a bowl that had been overflowing for the past few minutes. Taking a sponge with her free hand she began scrubbing.

"…I don't suppose it's something I can help with?"

Maybe if she looked pathetic enough, Yomi would be able to just deduce what it was because it was _certainly_ something she could help with.

"Not really."

"Hmm… well, perhaps Kagura can."

_Kagura? What the hell?_

"What are you talking about?" she looked at Yomi with a genuinely surprised expression.

"Oh, well, you have been hanging out with her a lot. I thought if it was something you couldn't talk to me about maybe you could just go talk with her," Yomi remarked, shrugging casually.

"Kagura is probably busy talking with Sakaki. And no, there's nothing I need to discuss with her," Tomo replied, unable to remove the annoyance from her tone.

Yomi just nodded slightly in response.

"They're going out, you know," she said, stubbornly indifferent to the consequence.

Yomi fumbled with a plate, the soapy surface making it even harder to latch onto.

"You don't say," she muttered, only her wide-eyed expression displaying her shock.

"Yup. They're official. I'm surprised you didn't notice."

Both remained silent for a moment, only the clatter of dishes sounding in the apartment.

"…Is that what you're upset about?" Yomi asked after the prolonged lull.

"Huh?" _Indirectly… yeah. _

"Ah… well, I mean, if you hung out a lot and now she's spending more time on the phone with Sakaki… I suppose..."

"Heck no. Besides, Yomi's more fun to hang out with than dumb ole' Kagura," Tomo's smile was a bit weaker than normal, but it was an improvement from the moping witnessed during dinner. "But what do you think of that… Sakaki and Kagura… crazy, huh?"

"I believe it's none of my business. And it was probably none of your business to tell me."

Yomi felt somewhat guilty for once again being so stern when it was obvious that Tomo was a little downhearted. But slightly dejected Tomo was still as mischievous as ever… still gossiping and causing problems.

"Geez. What a killjoy, Yomi. I think it's cute. And you're their friend. I really don't think they'd mind. Besides, if you weren't completely out of it that whole weekend, you would've figured it out yourself. Believe me, it was obvious."

"Hmm…" Yomi murmured, frowning slightly.

There was another moment of silence that Tomo once again felt the need to break.

"Well, I'm… gonna do homework or something. Ciao bella," Tomo attempted to inject some false cheer into her voice before wiping soapsuds on Yomi's shoulder.

"Tomo!"

The wildcat fled the scene. They didn't talk the rest of the night.

llllllll

The next day Tomo was torn between taking advantage of Kagura's hospitality once again or just going home. It wasn't as if Yomi would be there. She had work. _This is hooorrible._

As a lazy, self-centered, impulsive person, she also was attracted to procrastination in such a way that only would make things harder. As she kicked an empty soft drink cup along the sidewalk, she began warring internally with herself. Half of her wanted to give it her all and go for it like she always did.

There was the problem though that this would have a very real effect on another person. What she did was not going to depend on her ability to sweet talk her way out of a situation.

She had already sort of tried being helpful though that just made Yomi more confused than anything else. She gave the cup another kick as it connected with the front of a building.

Yomi secretly liked attention, but it'd have to be toned down… Tomo thought back to Kagura's admonition from the day before… she guessed playful mockery wasn't going to work in this case…

A sudden buzz from her pocket shook her from her thoughts. Blinking in surprise, she took out her phone and flipped it open.

"Hey."

"Hey, Tomo. Just wanted to see how you're doing. Uhh I ate lunch with Yomi and Ayumu today and Yomi said you'd been acting strange… umm, just wanted to know if you wanted to talk or anything."

"Huh?" she questioned, having the nerve to sound annoyed at Kagura's concern.

"I mean, no pressure. You don't have to err y'know… say anything to Yomi. I won't make fun of you… or whatever. I mean, you were right when you said you've got time."

"Who do you think I am? No need to be so charitable, Miss Kagura," Tomo joked snidely.

"H-hey! That's not what I meant! I'm just tryin' to help you out."

"hehe Sure. So you say _now_, but I bet you just want bragging rights so you can be all like 'I got you two together'."

"The _hell_?! That's messed up. And hey! Was that why you wanted to help me out? Wait. Never mind. I don't want to know the answer to that…"

Tomo heard Kagura sigh over the other line.

"Well, whatever Tomo. Just don't y'know… do something without thinking, ok? I'm gonna let you go though since this conversation doesn't seem to be going anywhere... Guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah, maybe," Tomo finished sullenly.

There was a click and the line disconnected. _Stupid phone… what's the point of having it around if I just get stupid calls like that from stupid Kagura?_

She turned her phone off before giving the cup a strong kick and watched it fly into the unintended target of a parked car. Eyes widening she looked around to make sure no one had seen before getting onto a side street and attempting to look above suspicion.

llllllll

Later that night Yomi got back to the apartment and dragged herself through the door. This had been one of the worst days ever. It turned out the person she had switched shifts with at work so she could be with everyone and not work this weekend hadn't shown up. She had already worked their shift for them, which they had begged and pleaded to be covered. They had tickets to a concert or something. But they hadn't come in to cover her shift and they had not signed the sub form.

Her supervisor had lectured her as soon as she showed up, completely oblivious to the mix up. It also had rained that night and the wind was bad enough to turn her umbrella inside out. She had thought she had been prepared by the fact that she had looked up the weather ahead of time, but an umbrella wasn't really worth much if it was broken.

So, by the time she gotten to work, she was wet and already a bit upset.

One of her professors had been generous enough to give them a pop quiz to top it all off. Somehow, probably in her cold medicine induced delirium, she had managed to misread the assignment and only gotten part of the required reading done for the day and probably got a good portion of the surprise test wrong.

It hardly was fair and she actually just wanted to be home and hoped Tomo was there. Walking in, however, she noticed how quiet the apartment was and that all the lights were off.

Taking off her coat she went straight to her room to start peeling off the clothes that she had once again gotten soaked from the short trip in between the bus stop and the apartment. She had long since given up even attempting to keep herself dry. Not only had it been raining but it was extremely cold as it was still winter. The snow from the previous week had turned to ugly gray slush, and the temperatures still warranted winter clothing.

Sneezing, she removed wet socks. _Great. I was just starting to recover from that cold…_

She was in the process of throwing on a sweatshirt when the phone started ringing. Tempted to just let it go to the answering machine, she finished changing before sprinting down the hallway only to hear the tail end of the recorded message Tomo had insisted _she_ make. Deciding to wait to hear who it was instead of picking up right away she listened for the beep.

"Uhh… hey, it's Kagura. Just wanted to see if Tomo was in 'cause I'm in the area and err, just-"

Going against her better judgment, she picked up the phone.

"Kagura?"

"Huh? …Yomi?"

"Hi. I'm not sure where Tomo is, but she most likely will be home soon if you would like to come up. Otherwise, I will inform her that you called," Yomi winced a bit at the formality of her tone. It wasn't like she had any reason to be annoyed with Kagura. At least no _legitimate_ reason.

"Uhh, yeah, sure. I'll come up. If that's ok. I mean, I don't wanna bug you, I just… had something to tell Tomo real quick."

"I'll let you in then. See you in a moment."

"OK. See ya."

Several minutes later found Kagura at the door drenched, as Yomi had been not much earlier.

After their phone conversation earlier, Kagura had felt guilty over her attitude at the end. She had wanted to apologize in person, but had called to make sure Tomo was home… but if Yomi was there, that was ok, she could at least wait inside.

After removing her shoes and leaving her jacket by the door, she stood awkwardly in the living room area as Yomi made some tea. For some reason the taller woman seemed upset and Yomi tended to show anger more quickly than sadness. She wondered if it had to do with Tomo or if there were other factors involved. As Yomi had mentioned at lunch earlier that day though, she _did _indeed have a life outside of Tomo and that Tomo was old enough to take care of herself.

It was nice though to have someone who wanted to take care of you though… Kagura's thoughts drifted to Sakaki. Just as in the past, Sakaki tended to do most of the listening as she did a lot of the talking, though every once in awhile Sakaki would get excited about a topic and take over the conversation for a brief period before backing down, embarrassed at her boldness though Kagura would always insist that whatever she had to say was interesting or a good idea in an attempt to get Sakaki to open up a bit more. It was all very cute and endearing. She can't help but feel somewhat remorseful for anything stupid she had done in the past as Sakaki, beyond her tendency to shut herself in, just seemed so infallible. It was like that horrible half-year break in their friendship never was. She wanted to try to arrange something where either she went to visit or Sakaki came to stay with them again but she did not want to push it. She also, as she on more than one occasion admitted to herself, wanted to explore other aspects of their relationship beyond just discussing daily occurrences over the phone. Any experimentation during the first year of university was generally not undertaken when sober though it had never progressed much past embarrassing-grabby-not-sex where both parties pretended it had never happened if they ran into the other during the week. Once or twice it had been with girls but they were in it to get the attention of the guys. That was when she started wondering. She had almost wished she had been back in high school when she experienced all this. A drunk Miss Kurosawa had been a valuable educational resource. She continued to wonder when Miss Kurosawa had showed up with Miss Yukari to see her compete. They were rather inseparable… But she had not summoned the courage to ask. She could be overconfident like Tomo, but generally tended to avoid being flat out offensive, something Tomo had no qualms over and a part of the wildcat's personality that truly worried Kagura as far as Yomi was concerned.

This whole Tomo mess though really was a bit of a distraction from her current relationship with Sakaki. _Geez, always something, huh?_

In a nervous gesture she ruffled her hair a bit.

"You know, you can sit down if you'd like," Yomi came in, a cup in each hand and a bottle tucked in the crook of her arms. "And umm if you'd still like tea, that's fine, but I remembered I had some wine left over from this weekend. And well, quite frankly, I need something a little stronger than tea. It hasn't been the best of days."

Startled a bit at Yomi's entrance, she turned before accepting a cup with thanks. Taking a closer look at Yomi she saw that the taller woman really did look somewhat frazzled.

"I don't normally watch much television, but I suppose we can put it on if you'd like… until Tomo gets here."

"Sounds good, if that's what you wanna do."

"That's fine. I don't really have much of a preference."

Walking over to the television set, she turned it on before flipping through the channels, eventually giving up and settling for some talk show.

They both sat down on the couch. After what had been at least half an hour, Yomi gave in and started some conversation. Though she had been a bit annoyed with Kagura, she wasn't able to remain so and the alcohol had loosened her tongue. Looking at the bottle she saw that most of the contents had been emptied and not into Kagura's glass. _Oh well, just one of those days… I deserve a break._

"She should be home soon. She was late for dinner the other night, but she was with you and since she obviously isn't with you right now, I'm guessing she's on her way. She isn't one to miss eating and I don't know what else she'd be up to… she never carries more than loose change with her no matter how many times I've told her to at least keep some cash for emergencies."

"I've noticed."

Yomi looked at her questioningly.

"That she doesn't keep money with her, I mean. She left me with the bill the other week."

"Hmm… sounds like her," Yomi conceded.

They both sighed simultaneously before laughing a bit.

"Yeah, she's crazy. But that's Tomo, right?"

"I guess…" Yomi said, looking down into her cup, "Maybe a bit crazier than usual…"

"Huh, really?" Kagura said, attempting to sound naive. She wasn't good at lying; she really, really wasn't good at lying.

"Well, she's always been strange, though, I suppose tolerable in the end. When you know what she is _really_ saying. I… well, I wouldn't normally say this, but she really is a good person and even through all the outrageous things she says and does… she's a good friend. She's just got her own way of… viewing the world, I think. Sometimes… I wish I could forget the reality of things like she does."

"Yeah, she is one of a kind," Kagura agreed, grinning as Yomi continued to divulge some of her personal thoughts.

Yomi smiled sadly to herself. Even with her inhibitions slackened somewhat as they were, she still wasn't able to reveal much more of her feelings on the complicated topic that was Tomo Takino.

"I wouldn't be able to tell her that, you know. I would never hear the end of it. Whether it's an act or not, her ego is insufferable. She's gotten better though."

"Really? Could've fooled me," Kagura chuckled lightly.

"Oh yes, maybe not with you, but I can tell," Yomi stated as she nodded seriously, "You should have seen her in elementary school. She was absolutely fearless. She teased as much then, too, but it took me forever to realize that she wasn't really being mean."

Kagura concurred quietly, urging Yomi to continue the story as she imagined the tiny terror that was Tomo in elementary school and a younger Yomi.

"Well, I got pushed around in elementary school. I liked the teachers more than most of the other kids. I used to read during lunch. They would make fun of me sometimes. I was arbitrarily picked out as the person to mock. I wore glasses and I didn't talk much… I actually tried to go a week without wearing my glasses, but I think that made things worse… I tend to squint when I don't have them on and apparently squinting and glaring look very similar. Kids can be mean, you know. And then there was Tomo. She taunted me just as much as the rest of them, but then she would go and try to walk home with me. As a small child, I was completely confused. Why would someone who was mean to me want to walk home with me after school and ask if we could be friends? Well, part of that isn't quite true… it was more along the lines of Tomo proclaiming that we were friends. She's not one for asking permission… After awhile I began to realize that the kids would get irritated with Tomo just as they rejected me. Tomo was probably the most out of control and annoying kid in the whole class. Nothing new there, of course. She got me in trouble once or twice. I remember I was furious each time. I was horribly upset at having to be talked to by the teacher as if it was the end of the world. I was a good student. Never stepped out of line. I guess I still don't. But that was how it started… and well… here we are," Yomi finished softly.

"… 'as long as it lasts', huh?" Kagura asked a bit sadly, quoting Tomo.

"I… guess so," Yomi answered thoughtfully, "I never quite looked at it like that… but… yes, I guess as long as we will put up with each other."

They sat in contemplative silence, finishing the bottle and waiting for Tomo to return.

llllllll

Author's Notes: I cut off the end of this chapter because… it just kept going and going… and instead of waiting another month to post something because of how school and extracurricular activities and birthdays and drama (not caused by or directly linked to me) have owned my life these past few weeks… oh wait, I forgot to add technical difficulties and no internet in my room due to a broken port (still dealing with that problem)… well, yeah, who the heck knows when it would've been completed. Consequently, four pages or more of Chapter 15 are already written. Woot. Sorry if it breaks off at a weird point. I should just wait until later in the week to post, but… whatever, it's been awhile and I never have time to drag my computer to a location where the crappy wireless is hopefully working and post. Maybe I fix later. Maybe.: p

Tomo and Kagura are probably playing Mario Kart near the start of this (the ghost house… Tomo's waiting for Lakitu to place her cart back on the track… oh man, it's sad that I remember all this… Bowser vs. Yoshi)… ha… that game just never seems to get old…: 9

And a Kagura and Sakaki bit just in reaction to my unimpressed and skeptical view of their relationship.

I want to keep calling it college, but in so many other countries college is a completely different entity… so, I use the somewhat (to me) awkward "university".

I think I need to reread this fic for consistency's sake and to avoid repeating the same things… but it's too long… and my schedule's been packed lately.

Ah, and thanks for the reviews! I actually didn't get to reply to all of them this time… I replied to some and not necessarily in order and I forgot which ones I had answered and which ones I hadn't. Sorry, it's been a bit busy.

And yes, some days just suck. A lot. And all sorts of garbage can just sort of happen at once. C'est la vie.: p

My internal Osaka fanfic conversation:

Do I _really_ wanna go there…?

_Once again, Osaka gets thrown to the side for the sake of simplification._

Well, she's so damn hard for me to write.

_Yes, but does that mean you should just give up and not rise to the challenge._

But…-whine- it's _just_ faaanfiction.

_Then don't bitch about getting any sort of critical reviews._

Daaamniiit!

(… next chapter, my friends, next chapter… she'll have at least one scene… I think.)

Ah, and the phone call between Kagura and Sakaki… is very boring. I'm sure. So, it wasn't written. The point is… that they're keeping in touch.


	15. Chapter 15

Summary: University life's sometimes not all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you've got a particularly quirky group of friends.

Disclaimer: I do not own Azumanga Daioh.

Rated T for swearing, alcohol references, and shoujo-ai.

Thoughts and stressed words are in _italics_.

**Chapter 15**

Yomi had decided to find something to eat after attempting to give Tomo a call. She had only ended up with Tomo's latest obnoxious voice mail message…

"Huh? Who is this? I can't hear you! Wait! I'm in an elevator! You're breaking up. I'm losing you. Ha! Fooled ya! This is Tomo Takino's voice mail. Leave a message and I probably won't get back to you! Later!"

Yomi glowered at the instant ramen. She wasn't in the mood to cook.

Kagura was still over after Yomi had invited her to stay, warning her that she wasn't going to make anything fancy. Kagura had accepted the offer after some hesitation, feeling that she was imposing a bit.

She was still in a strange mood after polishing off nearly an entire bottle of wine. She rarely drank. Big drinkers just gained weight and she wasn't one to put herself in a position where she wasn't her normally controlled self.

Kagura had allowed her to talk. Perhaps she had needed to get things off her chest. That aggravating feeling of suspicion arose once again though.

"What _have_ you two been up to?" she asked Kagura who had been sitting at the table, startling the other woman and sounding a tinge too irritated for the question to be a casual one. Normally she would have eased into the topic, sounding disinterested, but she was getting a bit fed up with not being clued into the increased activity that had been going on lately. Tomo would have been her source for information, but time spent with her roommate had been sparse and even somewhat uneasy lately.

"Uhh… up to?" Kagura asked, feigning ignorance and doing a bad job of it.

"Yes. You and Tomo. What have you been up to? I never remember to ask her. But she's been rather sneaky lately."

Seeing that she wouldn't easily be able to talk her way out of it, partly due to Yomi's determined glare, partly due to her inability lie on the spot and come up with some sort of believable fabrication.

"She was helping me with something," Kagura explained vaguely.

"Hmm… I highly doubt it was an assignment for a class," Yomi countered distrustfully.

"No, uh, well, I guess I might as well tell you. I mean, I don't know how you'll take it, and I should ask Sakaki first, but I don't want you be mad at Tomo. Sakaki and I-"

"Are going out, dating, are a couple, whatever," Yomi interrupted, brushing off this revelation that under different circumstances would have garnered a much more serious response, "Tomo told me already."

"R-really?" Kagura stuttered, surprised, "You're… ok… with that?"

Yomi ignored Kagura's inquiry and pushed forward with her questioning. "That can't be all. Something's not right and you know what it is."

"N-no… I… well, ask Tomo."

"I _have_. She said it was nothing."

Kagura stood; ready to leave if she had to.

"If she's angry about something she's just as loud about it as she is when she's happy. I didn't think it would matter and that it would just figure itself out whatever it was. Unfortunately, it didn't. If you really don't know anything as you claim is it because Tomo is upset because of you? Because you are dating Sakaki? How close are you and Tomo?"

Why _did_ she care? _Tomo is my friend. This is something a friend should care about, is it not?_ She disregarded the part of her that knew better. The part that was well aware that this whole conversation was geared toward putting any possible suspicions to rest. Her mind had thus far been able to selectively take notice of only the things she wanted it to. As far as she had been concerned, Kagura and Sakaki had shared the couch the other night due to a lack of other places to sleep. Tomo's strange behavior owed itself to the fact that strangeness seemed to be a basic part of her personality. Now though, it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to ignore what was happening all around her. She _would_ find out what was going on and Kagura _was_ going to tell her.

Kagura was shocked by what Yomi was insinuating and thrown further off balance by the rapid-fire questioning. As an almost knee-jerk denial, she answered back.

"She loves _you_!"

As soon as she said it, she gasped and threw her hands over her mouth.

Yomi blinked several times before shaking her head slightly.

"That's… that's absolutely ridiculous," Yomi stated, sounding confused.

_Shit, what do I say? Shit!_ Kagura looked at Yomi, still stunned.

"I've never shown any indication that… I… it's not right… I couldn't possibly… _she_ couldn't actually…" Yomi muttered to herself.

At that moment they heard the front door open, and the two figures in the kitchen froze, Kagura's head ducked timidly, having an idea of how dangerous this situation could end up.

Omitting her greeting, Tomo quietly padded over to the kitchen after removing herself from her wet coat and working on kicking off equally sodden shoes she gave up, keeping them on. She was too excited and nervous. If she made a mess on the floor, there would be plenty of time to clean that up later.

Flowers she had gone so far as to overdraft to buy were in her left hand that she had pressed up against the wall in order to hide the bouquet before she peeked in and saw the shocked faces of her two closest friends.

"Hey guys!"

Unfortunately Kagura was there. That put a kink in the plans, but no matter. She attempted to motion for Kagura to leave, but the dimwit didn't seem to catch on. Kagura remained standing, eyebrows wrinkling in worry. _She actually seems kinda freaked out._

Looking over at Yomi she knew there was trouble as soon as she met her roommate's eyes. _Oh hell…_

"Tomo," Yomi's voice was barely controlled as she looked straight back at her roommate, "What _exactly_ have you been telling people?"

"Telling… people?" she responded stupidly.

"From what I understand, Kagura is under the impression you have some sort of… plan… for me… that I wasn't aware of."

"I-it's not like that!" Kagura stammered.

Tomo's gaze snapped in Kagura's direction, surprised.

"Kagura, let Tomo answer."

"I… I…" Tomo stuttered, attempting to regain her bearings. _Shit, this wasn't part of the plan of not having a plan!_ She looked over to the side at the flowers that she still had enclosed in her now sweaty hand.

"What are you holding?"

Guiltily she slowly brought out the bouquet.

"Um… these are for you."

Everything became unsettlingly clear in that moment. Flowers? For her? It should have been touching.

It wasn't _right_ though.

Yomi shook her head again. Looking both baffled and distressed.

"Yomi, I have to tell you something. We've been friends for a long time, right?" she continued, not pausing for a response, "I want to let you know how much you mean to me. I know I'm an idiot, but I was hoping-"

"Stop… just… please, stop…" Yomi asked, looking vulnerable, caged in between Kagura, Tomo, and the kitchen counter. It was too late to pretend it never happened. This was very real.

"Y-yomi. I just-"

"I can't deal with this right now. I'm not sure what you think you can accomplish by doing this-"

Tomo started to get annoyed at that. She could understand Yomi being apprehensive. Even maybe a bit shocked, but to try to belittle her feelings?

"Now wait a second," Tomo implored, "I'm trying to be honest. Could you just listen?"

"You can't mean this. Have you even thought what you're saying through? No, of course not. Why would you do that? That would just make my life less complicated. We can't have that," Yomi scoffed, her tone both desperate and sarcastic.

"Thought it through? Yomi, I don't think I've thought anything through _more _than this."

"I find that hard to believe. What you're… _suggesting_ is based on unfounded assumptions and you can't possibly have taken into account all the reasons it could never work."

This was _crazy_! _Yomi_ was crazy! Tomo was beginning to get truly angry. Yomi wasn't listening. She was letting herself get sucked into her own misgivings. _Damnit, Yomi! You give up too easily._

She wasn't going to have any of it.

"_Yomi_! Just calm down for a second, ok?"

"Calm down?! _Calm_ down?! Do you have any idea of the implications of what you're _saying_? It-it's not a way to live," she tried, urgently grasping for some argument, not seeing the hurt expression that crossed both Kagura and Tomo's faces.

"Well hell, Yomi. Maybe, _just_ maybe, if you were able to drag yourself out of your own pathetic self-pity, you'd be able to see that life isn't fucking perfect for _anyone_! Believe it or not but my life goal isn't to be a screw up. I just put more stock in what's _important_ than my own insecurity. You're just digging yourself deeper."

Yomi was taken aback at the charges Tomo was making against her.

"What would _you_ know?" Yomi rasped accusingly, "At least I honor my responsibilities. At least… at least I have direction! What _are_ you going to do with your life, Tomo? Live off someone else? Well it sure as hell isn't going to be me. I take care of you all these years and you go and start telling people things. Things that aren't true. That could ruin my reputation. What else have you said to people? Are you trying to hold me back with you so we can be failures together?"

"Get over yourself, Yomi, the only lies are the ones coming from your mouth. If you can't accept what I've said as truth, you could at least give me a straight answer instead of all these empty excuses. I can't believe you're doing this..." Tomo's voice cracked a bit before she composed herself, speaking quietly but her tone had a hard edge to it, "It's not about having a set plan. I'll do what it takes. I've survived this far. Stability isn't worth shit if you're gonna be miserable… I'm not the one just getting by, Yomi."

"Get out."

Yomi distantly noticed she was becoming increasingly irrational. She didn't care.

"This is my apartment, too, Yomi," Tomo explained calmly, standing her ground. The cool answer from her roommate only served to make Yomi all the more incensed.

"I could find _anybody_ to be a roommate."

Tomo choked back a cry of protest before her eyes narrowed. They had both already crossed the line, but what Yomi said seemed unnecessarily harsh. _So that's how she wants to spin it, huh?_

"And a friend? Possibly more? No one's going to be good enough for that. You'll be alone. Because you hate people. And you hate people because you don't love yourself."

Kagura watched the whole thing, firmly rooted to the ground though she had desperately wanted to stop it from spiraling out of control. She had wanted to grab Yomi's arm before they reached that point of no return. Her week which had started out so hopeful was now twisting into something dark and grotesque right in front of her eyes. A loud crack resounded in the apartment. Then silence.

Kagura looked at Yomi in disbelief. The taller woman herself still seemed to be processing what she had done. All her harsh words and accusations were nothing compared to that simple action carried out in anger. Tomo wasn't looking up while Yomi's hand was still tensed, palm open and an angry red from the force of the slap. Kagura began to wonder as a nauseating sensation crept from her gut to her throat if the two were beyond apologies.

Tomo was the first one to move. Backing away slowly, she made her way to the door.

"I… I gotta go," she mumbled, expression blank. And then she was gone.

Yomi stared at the empty space Tomo had stood in not a minute ago. All her self-righteous anger slowly drained out of her leaving her feeling empty and confused. It hadn't been a playful swat or an annoyed bop on the back of her head in an attempt to wipe of that insufferable grin she always wore. She had been livid. Angry enough to physically hurt her best friend. It had been a smooth execution with an irrevocable effect that left her shaken to her core.

She was normally so indifferent. Calm, cynical, always waiting for the disappointment because it was easier to depend on the letdown than to have her hopes shattered, crushed by an equally apathetic world. Tomo was full of those predictable disappointments. She would forget things. She did things on her own selfish whims and thrived on being as irritating as she could get away with. She was an idiot! All the more secure in her stupidity! Happily screwing up through life with no concern for consequences while people like Yomi worked themselves tirelessly only to end up with mediocre jobs taking care of leeches like Tomo.

Part of her had the nerve to be resentfully mortified that Tomo had suggested what she had, but she knew it wasn't more than an act, a sad falsehood that she'd just love to get away with. All the blame would remain with Tomo for lying, manipulating and having an unnatural interest in her friend. She could finally cut that tie between herself and Tomo that had lasted much longer than it should have. It had been inevitable, hadn't it? _Hadn't it?_

Yomi was what Tomo wasn't. Responsible, conscientious, driven…_ resentful, cold, doubtful._

Overall, it just didn't seem to even out in the end. She had screwed up. Bad. She, as the normal, dependable member of their group never screwed up, but apparently, when she did, she screwed up royally.

To her side she heard Kagura exhale sharply.

"How… could you _do_ that?" Kagura slowly lifted her head to meet her eyes.

She looked… furious.

Yomi felt her eyes widen before she stepped back, as if the distance would help shield her from the biting accusation of the normally friendly Kagura.

Her mouth opened and closed uselessly.

"She left herself open and it's one thing to… to turn someone down, but that was _cruel_! I've never seen her be that honest and… I just… I could see you were angry, but why would you be that… that _heartless_?" Kagura shouted.

She had already realized she had done something wrong, she had chastised herself, but now to have Kagura so bluntly reprove her…

_Heartless?_

"If you're not going to go after her… and even if you did… would you be able to fix it? I-I don't even know what to say."

"I… I didn't mean to… I didn't want to hurt her like that," Yomi stammered weakly, finally regaining her ability to speak.

"It's too late for that. And don't tell me your excuses. If you aren't going to go find her before she does something stupid, then I will. But then I'd start packing Tomo's stuff so she can stay with me for the week."

"No, I'll go," Yomi exclaimed, almost pleading, "I'll find her."

Kagura looked at Yomi who was visibly upset and at least appeared remorseful. As long as she was willing, Yomi was probably the best option to send to find Tomo. She shook her head and got a hold of herself before she burnt any bridges.

"You sure?" she asked softly, not wanting to send a hysterical Yomi after Tomo whose emotional state Kagura wasn't sure she wanted to think about at that moment.

Yomi nodded, in the process of collecting herself.

"I'll fix it. I have to."

"If you're sure then."

"Positive," she nodded in the affirmative.

Suddenly Kagura became tentative again, roles switching as Kagura began to speak.

"A-and Yomi, if you really meant some of what you said, let her down gently, ok?" Kagura requested, looking saddened, knowing full well that it could have easily been her in that position, a nasty red handprint on her face and short one friend.

Yomi looked back uncertainly, before appearing despondent herself.

"I… don't know if her feelings are mutual, but I do love Tomo. I'm not sure if it's… like that, but she is my best friend."

It felt good to allow herself to think like that, to acknowledge that there was someone out there who she valued. She felt lighter somehow. Some of what Tomo had said had been very difficult to hear, but she began to feel a release of nearly two decades worth of passive antipathy, her motivation to judge everyone on those same negative and disillusioned standards. It was freeing. Now she just had to find Tomo. After that, she wasn't quite sure where things would go, but she would try to be more honest both with herself and her friend.

Across from where she was standing, Kagura blinked for a second before nodding slowly in understanding to her last declaration.

"If that's what you feel. Take care of her, Yomi. And take care of yourself."

Hoping she had done the right thing, Kagura watched as Yomi hurried out the door, grabbing her phone on the way. Seeing the abandoned flowers that had been left on the floor, she picked them up before looking for a container to put them in.

llllllll

She had felt the stares of the few people she had passed and was thankful that the streets were nearly empty.

She was so very tired. Tired of everything. Suddenly it all just seemed so monotonous, so pointless. Walking in the darkness she passed by stores, apartments, theaters, cafés… it all felt gray, the rose-colored tint of her perspective having wilted to ash. She was calm now. At first she had felt so ashamed, afraid even. And then inexplicably angry. Passing by all those shop windows she had the sudden urge to pick up a brick or a chair to throw at these mocking manifestations of ordinary life.

She hadn't been paying attention to where she had wandered, but the sudden absence of solid building to her side caught her eye. Stopping she stared forlornly at the park she had spent part of the afternoon at with Yomi just the other week. The bitter irony of it all.

It was now well past sundown. The park, just as it had been the last time she had visited, was empty. If only she could turn back to that day. Rarely did she admit defeat, but as she sat there shuddering in silent sobs, she couldn't help but think that _this might just be it_. Tomo Takino had finally bitten off more than she could chew. For once she was unable to glorify the fall. It was the end. As she had told Kagura, what she had was her optimism and closely linked to that was Yomi, the one infallible source of permanence in her life. Her straight man. Her prickly, persnickety, practical, irritable, wonderful Yomi. No, not her Yomi. Not anymore. Not even as a friend? No, probably not. Yomi could forgive her all her multitude of faults, but maybe this was one fuck up too many. Rude, shameless Tomo no longer could bring herself to assume tolerance let alone acceptance. Emotionally drained, she bowed her head.

llllllll

Yomi had been searching for slightly over half an hour, peering into shops and had attempted to call Tomo, not surprised upon receiving no answer and even though Tomo most likely would never check her voice mail box, she left a message urging Tomo to go back to the apartment or to give her a call. She had called Osaka and had just gotten off the phone with Kagura who said she hadn't seen Tomo and asked if she wanted help looking for her. Yomi had turned down the offer but said if she was not able to find her in the next twenty minutes she would give her a call.

Striding past a park, a lone figure caught her eye. There she was, sitting by herself on the swing. No coat, no gloves, gripping the most likely cold metal chains nonetheless, shivering slightly. She slid in through the open gate walking over to the miserable, drenched form of her roommate. Tomo's back was to her and the smaller girl had yet to notice her approach. Yomi could feel her own expression of worry soften considerably at the sight. _You idiot._

llllllll

Suddenly feeling a weight on her shoulders, she turned rapidly, trying to get a glance of her perceived assailant only to come face to face with Yomi. Knees weak, she sat back down in the swing feeling Yomi lean into her from behind.

"Y-Yomi!" Tomo protested. _Why are you here?_

"Shhh," she hushed her. _I'll be gentle, but please… please listen._

"You know…" she whispered softly into the other woman's ear and Tomo was no longer certain if she was shaking from the cold or from something else, "you make me absolutely crazy. Crazy angry. Crazy frustrated. Sometimes just plain crazy. But, and I've thought about it before, I honestly can't picture how else it could be. I would miss out on being crazy happy, too, you know," Tomo felt her eyes watering despite herself, a tentative hand reaching up to grasp Yomi's gloved one, "My days would be one long flat line. I honestly thought I _was_ going insane when I began to realize that I used you as a chronological marker in my life,"the taller woman laughed wryly to herself,"This past summer rearranged itself around 'The Days Tomo and I Went Looking for an Apartment'. Then there was 'When Tomo Started a Fire in the Kitchen' which of course occurred before the party with the swim team or 'The Night Tomo Got Horribly Sick and I was Scared to Death I Was Going to Have to Take Her to the Hospital'," Tomo could feel the arms around her shoulders tighten their embrace,"And now the time I was an idiot and had to apologize to Tomo. I'm sorry. What I did was unacceptable," her voice relaying the deep sense of regret she felt for her action.

"It's… it's alright. I said some stuff I shouldn't have. I'm sorry, too," Tomo whispered, her voice almost unrecognizable at such an uncharacteristically low volume.

Tomo could feel Yomi smiling as the taller woman's cheek brushed her own. They both exhaled, the warmth from their breaths swirling in the cool night air.

Though Tomo couldn't see, Yomi's eyes suddenly became serious.

"But I… can't really answer you… not yet. I wouldn't be who I am now if it weren't for you, Tomo. We have been part of each other's lives for so long and there's hardly a clear memory of mine that you aren't somehow connected to. I can't picture what I would do if you suddenly weren't there. So please, _please_… Don't leave. I do care for you. You are the most important person in my life, but I don't really know if I love you like that. I'd like to save us both the heartache until I'm sure… if you could bear with me? If you'll still consider me even as a friend at this point?" The last part was tentatively stated before she let out a shaky breath.

Tomo had gone from completely hopeless to positively buoyant. Now wasn't the time to tease, but judging from what Yomi said, there would be plenty of opportunities for her to do so at the very least in the near future.

Swiftly turning around, she threw herself at Yomi, falling over the seat of the swing and knocking them both down. Not having the heart to yell at Tomo after such an exhausting emotional experience, Yomi returned the embrace, allowing Tomo to bury her head into her chest. Reluctant to end the moment, she did worry about Tomo who had been out in the cold night and though it had stopped raining, she had been wet from earlier. Returning back to the apartment, a tall cup holding the flowers Tomo had purchased and placed on the table in front of the couch was the sight that greeted them.

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Author's notes: First off, Tomo was _not_ going to go jump off a bridge or something like that. Yes, maybe for a moment there it felt like the end of the world, but suicide is not a theme of this fic.

And damn straight Kagura'd stand up for Tomo. Sometimes it really is better not to get involved in quarrels… most of the time it's better to just be neutral and let the upset parties work it out amongst themselves. But there are times when one should step up, I think, and speak out if there is an injustice witnessed.

So, this is probably the most at one time we get from Yomi's perspective. She's been in the background a lot, only stepping up every once in awhile to voice her disapproval. The wine can be used as a plot device if you think her behavior was completely unbelievable. I'd personally rather think that she really was sick of being in the dark and had a bad feeling about things and that uncertainty made her lash out, though maybe the alcohol did aggravate the situation a bit. She might show annoyance at things, but err I tend to have the characters internalize a lot of emotions. Still, I give you that out if you want to take it.

Ah, and no Osaka, sorry. She's in the epilogue and does make an appearance in the next chapter.

Next chapter will probably be the last one before the epilogue. I didn't in any way mean to drag this out. I just see Yomi as really dubious of all this, even if she would secretly want it to work out in the same way Tomo does. But yes, there will be more contemplation in the next chapter, but also the regular hijinks.

The beginning of this chapter was what I was referring to when I posed the question "which is the bigger sin, anticlimax or melodrama?" In this fic, I'd probably say anticlimax, but I will say it was a bit of a stretch for me to write a lot of this chapter, especially the moment at the beginning, as I myself wouldn't put up with someone who reacted violently (at least, I would hope I wouldn't).

When I have time, I might move most of the author's notes to livejournal… just because they're long and a lot of the times very unnecessary (though sometimes helpful to me and a trigger for some interesting feedback).

Thank you again for the reviews. Take care!


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